Hidden Blood
by Ramyh
Summary: A war is tearing apart the underworld of the Eastern Lands, and the Tortallan Rogue is caught in the middle. A foreigner with a shady past has the power to stop it, unless someone stops him first. [Mostly OCs with some canon chars.]
1. Ch 1

This story is basically a totally rewritten version of my previous story "Family Business". The two story's have very little in common however, so don't be surprised those ppl who have read "FB". R/R after your done reading please!!!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.  
  
The bright midday sun shined down on the town of Tamsendon as its inhabitants bustled around busy with their chores and errands. Signs of an early spring could be seen not only in the weather, but also in the townspeople. Their cheery smiles and happy laughter created a very light and care-free atmosphere.  
  
The lull was interrupted, however, by a man half-running, half-stumbling out of the local tavern with the bartender and two other men right behind him.  
  
"And stay out ye trouble-making scoundrel," the bartender shouted at the man who was currently sitting on the dusty road with an innocent look.  
  
"Me? I just came in for a drink, what's the trouble in that?" the man asked while maintaining a look of innocence. He was tall and had a build that was lean yet slightly muscular. His hazel eyes twinkled with suppressed amusement as he gazed at the three men.  
  
"I won't have anybody starting fights in m'tavern, especially strangers," the bartender spat. "It's best if you leave this place right now before these two," he gestured to the two men beside him that were cracking their knuckles menacingly, "help you on your way."  
  
The man slowly stood up and looked at the three men with a slightly hurt look. He sighed as he turned and started walking away towards a brown mare that was tied up to a post by the tavern. Saddling up his horse, the man turned and looked at the three men once more. They just stood there, glaring at him. He grinned and with a wave of his hand he was off, but not before saying one last thing to the bartender. "Your ale was stale anyway," the man said to the bartender as he kicked his horse into a gallop.  
  
*******************  
  
Luke Thatcher gazed at the setting sun. 'I should probably make camp for the night', he decided. The man chose a nice secluded clearing surrounded by trees. After setting up his camp and tending to his horse, Luke sat down in front of the fire and reached into his navy blue cloak that he had been wearing. He pulled out a three purses full of coins, a couple pieces of jewelry, and two loaves of bread.  
  
"Not too shabby," he said quietly to himself amusing himself with the thought of what the bartender's face would look like once he'd found out that he and his customers were short a few personal belongings.  
  
Luke put back the stolen items and lay down on the grass looking up at the stars. 'How long will I spend wandering aimlessly around like this? It's been almost six months since I left home, and I can't seem to be able to settle down anywhere.'  
  
Home. He knew he couldn't go back, and he didn't want to, however, he also didn't want to be a wanderer for the rest of his days. Suddenly an idea occurred to him. 'I might not be able to go back, but who says I can't start over in a place just like it,' he thought excitedly wondering why he hadn't thought of it before. 'I know the perfect place,' was his last thought before he drifted off into sleep.  
  
The first rays of sunlight creeping through the trees roused Luke from his sleep. Yawning he sat up and stretched. "Well better get going," he said trying to encourage his weary body to stand. After he had erased all signs of his camp (he didn't want any unwanted company from bandits), he saddled his mare, Koka, one of the few items he truly owned, and set off toward his destination.  
  
The air was cool and crisp in the early morning, but not as cold as it usually was in early March. Luke was the only traveler on the road, but he knew within a few hours that would not be the case. This road was too well used. He knew he should stock up on water as well because he would be entering desert land for the next two days as he rode for his knew home. Luke hoped he wouldn't meet any of the bandits or tribesmen who inhabited the area.  
  
He wasn't too worried though. Luck had always been on Luke's side ever since he'd been a child. He chuckled as he remembered the scrapes he had gotten out of by lucky chances. Although.one time luck had deserted him. Luke remembered sadly the events of one year ago when his mother Ami, a weaver, had died of a plague that had swept the city. He could do nothing as he watched her waste away in front of his eyes. His only family, for his father was unknown and presumed to be dead, had left him. Luke suddenly felt very old even though he was only twenty-four years of age. Giving his head a little shake, he silently berated himself for thinking about his mother's death again.  
  
"She's gone", he told himself sternly, "and no amount of wishing can bring her back. Besides, ma would want me to go on with my life."  
  
Trying to block out all thoughts of his mother, Luke noticed a figure in the distance. The figure seemed to be resting. 'Great', Luke thought, 'someone to talk to.maybe even a 'client'.' Luke urged Koka to go a little faster, wanting to get to the figure quickly.  
  
"How's it going?" he called out to the extremely tan man who was adjusting the saddle on his white horse. The man looked at Luke with emotionless eyes. He was a few inches shorter than Luke's six foot two with dark brown eyes that were almost black and a hawk-like nose. The man didn't say a word as he mounted his horse.  
  
"Where're you heading?" Luke tried again at making conversation with the stoic tribesman. He wasn't going to try and lift anything off this man. His built and movements hinted at a warrior background, and from the slight bulges in one of his saddle bags it looked like he carried at least one sword with five or six knives, and that wasn't even counting the ones he had spotted under the man's clothing.  
  
"Curiosity is not welcome here in the desert," the man said in a deep voice. "You would do well to hold your tongue while you are within her boundaries." Luke grinned. "My ma always said Mithros himself couldn't keep a secret from me. Besides, I've already figured out where you're going."  
  
The tribesman regarded him with a slightly surprised and slightly amused expression. "Oh really," he said in skepticism.  
  
"Really," Luke replied with a grin. "You're obviously going north because of the clothing you've packed, which I got a glimpse of when I rode up. Also, you're carrying an awful lot of weapons for someone just out for a ride. My guess is that you're going to sell them. For that you need to go to a city, not a town or village because since this country's trouble with Scanra, big weapon sales are looked on with suspicion. Now, this rode can take you to three places that would fit the bill, but your food supply hints at the one farthest away. So why are you going to Corus anyway?"  
  
The man scowled at Luke. "You certainly lack caution, that's for sure," he told Luke sternly. "That kind of foolishness can get you killed."  
  
"Lucky for me, I have good insight on people," Luke replied pertly.  
  
"Humph," was all the man said as he turned his horse north.  
  
"I'm Luke," he said pleasantly as he nudged his horse into a slow gait that kept pace with the other man's white horse.  
  
The man regarded him for a moment. "Rhazier Tukham," he said finally, "of the Sun Scorcher Tribe.  
  
They rode in silence for a while until Luke suddenly stopped his horse. "Stop," he said quietly, his manner serious and commanding so unlike the man Rhazier had met a few moments ago.  
  
"What's," Rhazier started but stopped as he saw a cloud of dust coming towards them. "Damnit, bandits," he spat.  
  
"Let's try to out ride them," Luke said, "maybe they haven't seen us."  
  
The two men kicked their horses into a fast gallop, hoping they wouldn't be spotted. Luke glanced over his shoulder to see that the cloud of dust was moving closer. "They've spotted us," he yelled at Rhazier.  
  
Rhazier swore and urged his horse to go a little faster. However, the cloud of dust soon gave way to a group of eight men all grinning ruthlessly at their prey. Rhazier and Luke glanced at each other. With a silent agreement they swung their horses around to face the on coming bandits.  
  
"Here," Rhazier said as he tossed Luke three knives and a sword. "I hope you know how to use them."  
  
Luke nodded grimly as the eight men rode up in front of them. They were tanned, filthy men that were leering at the two men who were staring defiantly back at them.  
  
"Well look what we have here," a man who appeared to be the leader said, "a couple of travelers who can't wait for us to take all of their burdensome belongings off their hands."  
  
Luke went over the situation in his mind. They were outnumbered four to one, but had the advantage of better weapons and the fact that the bandits were extremely sure of themselves. "Sorry to disappoint you, but you won't be taken anything from us."  
  
The leader sneered, "You really aren't in a position to tell us what we will and will not be doing, are you lad? He smiled coldly at them as he drew his sword. The bandits behind him followed in suit.  
  
"Any last words boys?" he asked the two men as he advanced with his sword.  
  
"Only one," replied Luke, "duck."  
  
The leader fell off his horse as Luke's knife embedded itself in his chest. The other bandits gave a cry of rage as they stormed forward with their swords raised. Luke cut down the closest bandit as Rhazier gave a loud war cry and ran a man through. He twisted around in his saddle to block the downward swing of a sword, and quickly slashed the man across the chest, killing him.  
  
The skirmish was over in a few short minutes. Rhazier grimly wiped the blood off his sword. "Where did you learn to fight?" he questioned Luke, who like him, was also cleaning his blade.  
  
"Picked it up," Luke replied, offering the sword to Rhazier.  
  
"Keep it," he told Luke, "you've spilled blood on it, now it's bound to you." Putting away his own sword, he turned back to Luke. "And you didn't just 'pick that up'," Rhazier accused him, "your style was to clean for you not to have had some training."  
  
Luke sighed. "We're wasting time, more bandits could be coming as we speak, I suggest we get moving."  
  
Rhazier shook his head as he followed Luke down the road that would take them to Corus.and where he could deal with the person those 'bandits' had been sent from.  
  
Well? Do y'all like it? Please tell me what you think! Flames are welcome, but fire is a dangerous thing to play with. 


	2. Ch 2

Disclaimer: Don't own any of TP's stuff!  
  
Two figures rode up to the city gates as the sun was setting. They had the slightly tired and disheveled look of travelers that had traveled great distances in a short period of time. They nodded wearily to the two guards at the gate as they entered Corus.  
  
The two men were silent as they made their way down the broad street. Some commoners glanced curiously at the two, but quickly went back to whatever they had been doing. After all, much more exciting and stranger people visited Corus all the time.  
  
Suddenly, one of the men stopped his horse. "We'll rest here tonight," he said to his companion as he gestured to an inn.  
  
Luke, who had been lost in thought, looked at where they were. Rhazier had led them to a slightly run down part of the city. The inn he had pointed out was a three-story building with a large stable and courtyard. "The Dancing Dove," Luke read off the wooden sign above the doorway.  
  
"Come on," Rhazier called to Luke as he led him towards the stables. After the two men had taken care of their horses, they went inside the inn. They walked into a brightly-lit room filled with all sorts of cheerful and rambunctious people (probably drunk). Rhazier nodded at a few of the patrons as he sat down at an empty table by the stairs. Luke followed him as he took in his surroundings.  
  
"Can I get ye lads sumth'n to drink," a woman with reddish-blonde hair asked.  
  
"Two ales miss," Rhazier replied, "and a couple of rooms for the night."  
  
The woman nodded, and Luke noted with interest the almost unnoticeable silent communication between her and Rhazier.  
  
As the woman walked away Luke asked quietly, "Who is she?"  
  
"Don't miss a thing do you?" Rhazier replied just as quietly. "That was Loni Donner, the owner of this inn."  
  
"Does the owner usually serve her guests?"  
  
"Let's just say, we're old friends."  
  
Luke raised an eyebrow at Rhazier. "GOOD old friends," he inquired innocently.  
  
"Yes, good old FRIENDS," Rhazier replied scathingly.  
  
Luke fell silent as Loni returned with their drinks. She also brought them the keys to two rooms on the third floor. Luke silently sipped his ale as Rhazier chatted with men who stopped by their table. He frowned. There was definitely more to Rhazier than he thought.  
  
"Why is that table over there empty," he asked Rhazier as the last man left.  
  
A look of resentment crossed Rhazier's face. "It's reserved for someone," he said flatly.  
  
For once, Luke didn't question him further. The look on Rhazier's face told him he should wait to question him more about the empty table.  
  
"We should probably turn in," Rhazier said at last, getting up from the table.  
  
Luke nodded in agreement and followed Rhazier up the stairs to their adjoining rooms. As Rhazier opened the door and went in to his room Luke followed him and closed the door behind him. "You've got some explaining to do," he told Rhazier sternly.  
  
"I am not obligated to explain anything to you," he replied haughtily.  
  
Luke clenched his fists. Rhazier could be such a pain in the ass sometimes. "You are not obligated," he said slowly, "but you should at least answer some of my questions."  
  
Rhazier just looked at him. Suddenly, he gave a curt nod, "alright then, but I will not answer if I don't want to."  
  
Luke knew this was as good as it was going to get. "Fair enough," he sighed. "First of all, how do those men know you."  
  
"I work with them."  
  
"And I suppose you work with Miss Loni as well?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And I don't suppose you would tell me what that work might be?"  
  
"Not a chance."  
  
Luke debated on asking his next question. In asking it, Rhazier would immediately be suspicious of him, not to mention want to know all about his past. Well, he needed answers, and this was the only way. "Why was your King of Thieves absent from his throne tonight?"  
  
Rhazier jumped up in shock. "Just who the hell are you!" he demanded angrily.  
  
"Calm down," Luke told him quietly.  
  
"I want to know how you know about the Rogue," Rhazier asked more calmly, though his eyes were narrowed.  
  
"It seems we both want answers doesn't it?" Luke said mildly. "I bet you feel a lot more 'obligated' know don't you?"  
  
Rhazier scowled. "I can't tell you everything," he said. "Not only would it be dangerous for you, but I can't say I trust you very much."  
  
"Likewise," Luke replied coolly, "however, I will let you know the basics if you will do the same."  
  
"Agreed," Rhazier said somewhat reluctantly.  
  
"First, back to my question that started our little bargain, why was your King of Thieves absent from his throne tonight?"  
  
"Technically, there is no current Rogue on the throne at the moment," Rhazier stated grimly. "The 'regent' is out of town on business to Port Cayne."  
  
"Regent?" Luke inquired, interested, "how did that happen?"  
  
Rhazier sighed. "About ten years ago, the former Rogue, Marek Swiftknife, disappeared without a trace. Usually, there would have been many claims to the throne that would have been solved by combat. However, at the time, the Rogue was having some trouble with a Scanran by the name of Igor Furtashak.  
  
When Marek disappeared, Igor took the throne. He was an agent sent by members of the Carthaki, Scanran, and Copper Islander Rogues. He claimed it for the Alliance of Three. The Alliance has had almost total control of the Tortallan Rogue ever since with Igor as the regent."  
  
"Almost total control?" Luke asked.  
  
"There has been a secret rebellion group for the past eight years," Rhazier explained. "I am a member of this group, along with Loni and the other men you saw tonight."  
  
"I assume those weapons you brought are to be well-used?"  
  
"Oh yes," Rhazier replied with a twisted grin, "very well." He looked at Luke. "Now you will answer my questions."  
  
"Shoot," Luke replied.  
  
"Where are you from?"  
  
"Tyra."  
  
"Where in Tyra?"  
  
Luke grinned. "Like I said, Tyra."  
  
Rhazier frowned slightly, "I forgot the capital was named the same as the country."  
  
"What was your occupation?"  
  
"Thief, sometimes a bodyguard, depended on how money was."  
  
"Where did you learn to fight?"  
  
"Traveling warrior."  
  
Rhazier scowled. "Traveling warrior?"  
  
Luke's face was expressionless, "We agreed to basics did we not?"  
  
"Why'd you come to Corus?"  
  
"To start over."  
  
"Oh come on," Rhazier said exasperated, "I wasn't that basic."  
  
Luke shrugged, "Let's just say there was nothing left for me in Tyra."  
  
Rhazier sat down on the bed, looking deep in thought. "I bet you didn't think about how you'd live once you got to Corus did you?"  
  
"Didn't really cross my mind," Luke said, grinning.  
  
"Well," Rhazier said slowly, "I can't turn you out in the street, you know too much."  
  
"Are you offering me a place with you rebels?" Luke asked.  
  
Rhazier smiled slightly, "I suppose I am."  
  
**** Well? Good, bad, ok, please tell me! 


	3. Ch 3

Disclaimer: OMG, I hate these things, I always forget to put them on. anywayz y'all know I don't own any of TP's stuff, and if you don't I would like to interest you in buying a few of my books.  
  
*******  
  
"Where the hell is he!" a man lounging in a chair by the window exclaimed loudly.  
  
"Hush you bumpkin," scolded a woman who was sitting on the bed, "really Trows you should learn some patience."  
  
The man grinned. "Be happy to", Trows replied with a wink, "but I'd have to have the right teacher Lila.  
  
Lila rolled her eyes at him. "Dream on."  
  
The other two people in the room glanced at each other and grinned. Loni and Josua had listened to the two bicker for years. "Quit flirting", an amused voice said from near the doorway.  
  
Lila turned to glare at the newcomer. "Well Rhazier I'm glad you could spare the time to join us," she retorted sarcastically.  
  
Rhazier smiled as he stepped through the door, allowing the person standing behind to enter the room.  
  
Immediately all hands went to a hidden weapon. The stranger looked at Rhazier with an eyebrow raised, "friendly group you got here."  
  
Rhazier shrugged. "You learn to be distrustful in our line of work." He looked around at the people in the room. "Meet Luke," he said shortly, "he's working for us now."  
  
Luke kept his face expressionless as four sets of eyes glared at him from around the room, sizing him up. He in turn, looked the over the group who was the inner circle of the rebellion. The man known as Trows was lanky and tall with light brown eyes and curly brown hair. He looked like he was a graceful and nimble as a cat. The woman whom Trows had been flirting with, Lila, was of medium height with green eyes and extremely long straight blonde hair that she wore back in a braid. Luke sensed a good amount of the Gift in her, mostly healing. The unknown man was a Carthaki with a shaven head, dark brown skin and piercing black eyes. His build was extremely muscular and stood at an imposing height of about six foot five. The final woman he had seen last night. Loni gave him a nod of recognition.  
  
"Luke", Rhazier said, "That's Trows, Lila, and Josua. Loni you've already met."  
  
"Rhazier", began Josua impatiently, "do you really think now is the time to be bringing strangers into the circle, what if he's a spy?"  
  
The others nodded their heads in agreement. Luke could see it was going to be awhile before the trusted him, if they ever did.  
  
Rhazier held up his hand for silence. "This man has proven himself as a valuable asset to our mission. If it weren't for him, I might not be standing in front of you now. I understand your concerns, but under the circumstances if I have to pull rank I will."  
  
Josua scowled at Rhazier as he sat down. "Well then, let's get started."  
  
Rhazier nodded. "Trows what's the report?"  
  
"Well Igor's still in Port Cayne, but he's been sending plenty of packages throughout Tortall."  
  
"What's in the packages?" Rhazier asked.  
  
"Mostly stolen goods, but all of them contained a vial of Drusythem."  
  
"What?!" exclaimed Rhazier, "how was he able to get a hold of that?"  
  
Luke frowned. Drusythem was a deadly poison on its own with no cure. It could also be used with magic to create an extremely deadly disease. It was what Duke Roger of Conte had used to try and kill Prince Jonathan many years previous. It was extremely rare, only two known people could make it, and they were kept on a close watch.  
  
Trows smiled grimly. "Igor seems to acquire new little presents everyday. The boxes we've intercepted have had their vials of Drusythem replaced with a vial of vinegar and water."  
  
"I see", Rhazier muttered. "Lila, what of their recruitment?"  
  
"We thought we were cutting their recruitment down quite a bit, but it seems that they have whole communities of training bases scattered through the Eastern Lands."  
  
Rhazier sighed. "Any good news?"  
  
"The war with Scanra goes well", Loni said softly. "If it ends soon, we might be able to strike down the remaining Alliance forces there.  
  
The discussion went on to include supply information, prospective allies, and the anticipation of further Alliance actions. Luke listened intently to all of it. In Tyra, his Rogue had remained neutral, not wanting the Alliance to swoop down on them as well. Naturally, there had been some men aiding the Tortallans (Luke declined the offer because of personal reasons), but they if they were found out by either the Rogue or the Alliance, the penalty was death.  
  
The meeting was rapidly ending. Josua gave a curt nod to his fellow rebels (Luke received another glare) and strode out of the room. Trows and Lila, leaving from a separate exit, were not far behind him, but they gave a friendlier farewell. Loni, however, remained in the room with Luke and Rhazier.  
  
"Rhazier," she said urgently, nodding at Luke, "are you sure we can trust him?"  
  
Rhazier gave her a small smile, "have I ever let you down before?"  
  
Loni gave him a small smile in return. "Well he needs a damn good alias."  
  
Luke grinned at her. "Orphaned traveler from Maren?" he suggested.  
  
Loni smirked. "That alias would hold up for about two days before someone found a hole." She paused, "how about the youngest son from a village in the mountains come to seek his fortune in the capital."  
  
Rhazier sighed. "What village?" You know the Alliance and anybody else who's curious will know if the village isn't real after some looking, and if we do give the name of a real village, they'll find that there was no such person living there."  
  
Loni shook her head. "Rhazier, I'm not an amateur," she said patiently, "I know this. However, we can use the route Luke actually took to get here as proof. If they look they'll find that someone of Luke's description did pass through their villages and towns. As for the village, I have a small farming village that we can use. It's a safe house for rebellion members."  
  
Luke grinned. "I can still keep my name?"  
  
Loni chuckled, "that's the idea."  
  
"Well," Luke said, "now that that's settled, let's get something to eat, I'm starved!"  
  
Loni gave a small laugh as she watched Luke walk out of the room. "Do we have another Trows on our hands?"  
  
Rhazier smiled. "Not quite, there is much he still hides from me. He puts on a very good front, but I can see the leader in him."  
  
"Do you think he's the one," Loni asked in a hushed voice.  
  
"Yes," Rhazier replied seriously, "he fits the prophecy exactly. But the only person who can tell for sure is the Leader."  
  
"You will introduce them tomorrow?"  
  
"Yes, and then we will know the course of action o take."  
  
"Are you two coming or not!" a voice bellowed from below.  
  
Loni laughed. "Keep your pants on!"  
  
"It's hard," Luke shouted back. "My belly's so small now; the pants just slip right off!"  
  
Rhazier rolled his eyes. Luke was a very interesting man indeed. 'The Leader will find him interesting indeed', he thought as he followed Loni down the stairs.  
  
****** Did y'all like it? Please review! Tell me what you would like to see happen.you never know it just might! 


	4. Ch 4

Hey y'all! Sorry about the delay, I've had a couple projects and a research paper due. Thanks for the reviews so far! Although...I would LOVE some more.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of T.P.'s characters  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The capital at night was pitched into darkness, save for a sliver of moonlight that gave the city an unearthly glow, as the wind blew softly down the deserted streets.  
  
Well, almost deserted.  
  
"Where are we going?" inquired Luke softly as he and Rhazier crept through a shadowy alley.  
  
Rhazier just shook his head signaling Luke to be quiet. Luke frowned. Rhazier had woken him up in the dead of the night with nothing but a "follow me" and "don't ask questions".  
  
Rhazier halted outside the back of what looked to be an old tavern that had long since gone out of business. He quietly opened a door that was surprisingly silent for all it looked like it was about to fall off its hinges.  
  
Luke's eyes narrowed. There was only one reason he could come up with for Rhazier to wake him up in the middle of the night to lead him across the city to a broken down dump. He was meeting the Leader.  
  
The Leader was the man who had started the rebellion. From what Luke had gathered from snatches of whispered conversations, he was extremely secretive and had once been a Rogue himself.  
  
Rhazier crept silently across the old floorboards to a moldy rug that had once been beautifully colored but time had turned it dull. He picked up a corner of the rug and pressed down on a knot in the wood. Luke heard a slight click. Rhazier then motioned for him to follow him to the opposite wall. Rhazier took the ring off his finger and put it in an indention in the wall. The ring fit perfectly. Luke heard a sliding noise coming from the back corner of the room behind the dusty bar. A dark opening with steps leading down had appeared.  
  
"Let's go," Rhazier whispered as he took his ring out of the indention in the wall.  
  
As they descended down the winding stone steps, balls of light appeared a few feet ahead of them to light the way. At the bottom, there was a solid oak door with a simple inscription across its surface, Lohedri Fuhr Dasme.  
  
Rhazier again inserted his ring in an indention where a keyhole would usually be located. At first nothing happened. "Wha-?" Luke started to say. Suddenly, the oak door opened on its own accord.  
  
They walked into a small chamber that was beautifully decorated, but at the same time didn't look too extravagant. The décor suggested humbleness behind the power.  
  
"Rhazier," a deep voice called from the shadows, "I see you've brought a friend."  
  
"His name's Luke," Rhazier directed toward the patch of shadow that the voice seemed to be coming from.  
  
A figure stepped out of the shadows, or rather, limped out. The man known as Leader was a tall man who was leaning heavily on a cane. His brown-grey was cut short and his brown eyes held wisdom in their depths. The laugh lines on his face had long since been covered with other lines, lines brought by hard times.  
  
"Well?" the Leader said expectantly.  
  
Rhazier looked over at Luke. 'He wants me to talk?' Luke thought surprised. 'What the hell do I say to this man, nice place?'  
  
Luke locked eyes with the other man. A look of surprised flashed over his face so quickly that Luke almost doubted he had seen it, almost. "I've come to help your cause," Luke stated simply.  
  
"Rhazier doesn't just bring anyone in here," the Leader said, "you must be one hell of a recruit."  
  
Luke smiled slightly at the man's frank humor. "I must be."  
  
The man gave him a small smile of his own. "Glad to see someone with a sense of humor around here."  
  
Luke heard Rhazier give a grunt from behind him. "Can someone tell me why I'm here?" Luke said, getting straight to the point.  
  
Surprisingly, the man turned and looked at Rhazier with raised brows. "I'd like to know the same thing myself."  
  
Rhazier stepped forward. "He is the one," he said simply.  
  
Now Luke was thoroughly confused. The Leader, however, was just shaking his head. "But why bring him here now?"  
  
Rhazier took a letter that had been hidden in his tunic and gave it to the Leader. "I thought now was the time."  
  
The Leaders eyes widened slightly as he read the letter. Other than that, he scarcely reacted. "You were right to bring him," he said softly.  
  
"Okay", Luke said, getting a little angry, "what the hell is going on here?"  
  
The two men just ignored him however as the Leader stood deep in thought while Rhazier watched him closely.  
  
Luke's eyes narrowed. He had had enough. Not only had he been woken up in the dead of the night after a long day, and dragged to the other side of the city to a decrepit building to see a man that didn't ask him to come, but now he was being ignored by the people responsible for his coming. "Listen", he said loudly, "if someone doesn't tell me what's going on in about two seconds, I'm walking out that door."  
  
Both men looked at him. "He's not very timid", Rhazier explained to the other man.  
  
The Leader just nodded and walked into the next room. Rhazier followed him. Luke sighed. 'Might as well follow', he thought.  
  
The other room was decorated just like the previous one, except this one was a bedroom. Rhazier was leaning casually on the wall as the Leader looked through a drawer full of papers.  
  
Luke sat down in a chair. Even though he was still being ignored, he was sure the Leader was about to give him the answers to all his questions and more.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kinda short I know, but please RR! I can be persuaded to write faster! ;) 


	5. Ch 5

Hopefully the next couple of chapters come a little faster. I just haven't had any time to sit down and write lately. Anywayz, on with the chapter!!!!!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Tamora Pierce's stuff…

********************************************* 

The room was deadly silent as the Leader contemplated how he was going to explain their current situation to Luke. Sighing, he finally said, "I suppose I should start at the beginning."

"That would probably be best," agreed Luke, finally settling down.

"About twelve years ago, the Rogue as we know it today was still in its prime," the Leader began. "I myself was the Rogue, and the prosperous times brought by the Rogue before me was still intact."

"Wait," Luke said suddenly, "if that's true, than you must be…Marek Swiftknife?"

Marek smiled. "That's correct," he said, "I was wondering how long it would take you."

"Well considering you supposedly died twelve years ago I think I was pretty quick," Luke replied sarcastically.

"I'll get to that," Marek said with a dismissing wave of his hand. "Back to the story. The Rogue was doing well; however, in early spring of that year a stranger came to the Dancing Dove, headquarters for the Rogue. His name was Igor Furtashak, a Scanran. At first he just seemed like a man fleeing from the warring clans trying to get rich, but as time went on he revealed that he was much, much more than just that."

Marek shook his head sadly as he paced around the room. "He turned against us at midsummer, when he assassinated one of my inner-circle, Romy Donner."

"Donner…" Luke interrupted, "was he related to Loni?"

"Her father," Marek replied. "After his death, Igor turned a good portion of our foreign contacts against us with bribes, threats, and deaths which isolated us enough to keep most of our activities within Tortall. We were still strong inside our own borders, but our influence and outside trade was cut off. Now that he didn't have to worry about any outside interference, he started picking apart our strongholds one by one. The first to fall was Port Legann, then Homensdale, a village on Lake Tirragen, then the town of Russak on the Scanran border, and finally Port Cayne was taken because of the top agent of the Rogue there turning traitor.

Marek stopped pacing and stood in front of the sitting Luke. "No one expected Corus to fall as quickly as the others because of our strength, my leadership, and a powerful ally who was outside the Rogue." Marek's face turned hard as he continued. "Igor proved to be one tricky bastard. He knew that no one sealed to the Rogue could betray another member to the Provost, but he wasn't exactly sealed to the Rogue. He turned in a couple of our people, and then bribed some of the palace guards who had arrested them to say that I had arranged their arrest. Well, it didn't take long for the remaining members of the Rogue to become divided: some against me and some with me. It was almost too easy for Igor to pick us apart. We still had one more chance, our outside ally."

Marek's expression didn't change, but Luke noticed that his eyes, which had been full of sadness and anger, became dominated by a silent rage. "But he decided that he couldn't get involved, that he had more important matters to attend to, leaving us at the mercy of Igor. At midwinter's eve, the Dove was attacked. My followers and I were forced on to the roof for the safety of the innocent bystanders. However, we were soon overrun, and I was separated from them. One of Igor's henchmen hit me in the shoulder with a knife, and the force sent me tumbling off the roof. I remember hitting the ground and pain beyond what I had ever felt laced itself through my legs, and I blacked out. 

"I'm guessing that's why you walk with such a heavy limp," Luke said. "What happened after you woke up?"

"I woke up two days later in this very room," Marek said. "By then most of my still loyal followers were either dead, missing, or working for Igor. Lila and Trows' parents were among the dead." He looked at Rhazier, who was sitting quietly in a chair. "Rhazier's father and eldest brother were among the missing."

Luke just sat quietly. 'All of the members of the inner circle lost a family member to this madness' he thought. 'I wonder how Josua is involved in this?'

"That's not even the worst of it though," Marek told Luke solemnly. "Even though all of the assassination attempts against Igor were thwarted, his second-in-command, a man named Nicoli Lungrak, wasn't so lucky. One of our agents succeeded in putting poison in his drink. However, before he died he managed to choke out a prophecy."

"Prophecy?" Luke said with an eyebrow raised. "He was Gifted then?"

"Nicoli possessed a strong Gift. He was able to throw fire and move heavy objects," replied Marek. "He also was known to receive visions of the future."

Luke sighed. "Well then let's here it," he said. "I'm sure this prophecy isn't anything good."

Marek nodded. "The prophecy told of two possible futures," Marek explained. "The first possibility is the coming of the Fallen One, who will fight and triumph over the force of good, bringing about the destruction of Tortall. The second possibility is the coming of the Hidden One, who will fight and triumph over the force of evil, and save Tortall and the Rogue."

Luke looked at him. "I'm guessing you think that the battle between good and evil in the prophecy, is a battle between the Fallen One and the Hidden One?"

Marek just nodded.

Luke sighed. "And I suppose I represent the Hidden One?"

"That's what Rhazier and I believe."

"What are you not telling me?"

Marek and Rhazier both looked surprised. "What?" Marek said.

"You're obviously not telling me something," Luke stated matter-of-factly. "Any one could be the Hidden One, I know I'm not the only outsider to come to Corus. There had to be some specific detail that makes you two certain that its me."

To Luke's surprise Marek just grinned. "Can't ever take anything at face-value can you kid?"

"I'd be a fool to," Luke replied with a grin of his own.

"I don't think it's a coincidence that an extremely gifted fighter wanders into our midst at the very moment when the Rebellion is about to try to overthrow the outsiders," Marek explained. 

Luke nodded, but he wasn't convinced. 'It must be a very important secret for them to keep it from me,' he thought. 

Rhazier, who had been silent most of the time Marek had been talking, now spoke up. "Whether you believe us or not, I do not care. What I care about is the future of my home, and I am willing to die for the safety on its inhabitants, which may very well happen. However, I believe you are the one who is destined to save Tortall. So Luke Thatcher, will you rise to your destiny?"

Luke looked at him and then at Marek and grinned. "What the hell."

**************************************************************

"So he's the Hidden One huh?" Loni asked Rhazier as they sat in Rhazier's rooms. 

"Yep," Rhazier replied, "but he doesn't know why he's called the Hidden One."

"You didn't tell him?" Loni said with her eyebrows raised.

Rhazier gave a small smile, "would you have?"

"I suppose not."

It had been two days since their meeting with Marek, and Rhazier was catching Loni up on what had happened over breakfast while Luke was still sleeping. 

"Still," Loni said, "what will you do when he finds out?"

Rhazier shrugged. "We'll take care of that when the time comes."

Loni sighed. "I suppose he knows about the enemies slowing growing stockpile of weapons, mages, and warriors."

"He was there when Marek opened the letter," Rhazier replied. "It was the first thing we told him after he acknowledged that he was the Hidden One."

Loni nodded and stood up. "We are due to receive a sample of a new type of magical solution developed in secret at the University in Carthak. It will turn the wearer invisible and totally resistant to heat."

"When and how much?"

Loni glanced at him, "three days at the earliest, we can't afford it falling into enemy hands. As for how much…it depends how well it works. If it goes off without a hitch, we'll need it at all of our supply and training bases."

"How much?" Rhazier asked firmly.

Loni avoided his gaze. 'I don't know the exact figure…"

"Humor me," came the short reply.

"Around 600 nobles," Loni almost whispered.

Rhazier scowled. "Loni," he said deceptively calm, "I hope that estimate is wrong because you know damn well that we can't afford to blow money on questionable items like that."

It was Loni's turn to scowl. "Rhazier," she began, "we need to have every possible advantage over our enemies as we can get. I've already checked the budget, and we can pay the money."

"You didn't already pay the money did you," Rhazier replied, his voice deadly calm.

Loni blushed slightly. "Not all of it," she muttered.

"LONI!" Rhazier roared, knocking his chair over, "WHAT THE HELL WILL WE DO IF IT DOESN'T WORK, IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED WE'RE ON A LIMITED BUDGET!"

Loni refused to back down. "Calm down," she said. "You have to take some big risks sometimes."

Rhazier glared at her. "With big risks come big falls," he shot at her.

"And big rewards," she shot back. 

Rhazier glared at her. "Now is not the time to be taking foolish measures."

"Stop being such a big baby!" she shouted at him. "I did what I had to do, now is not the time to be overly-cautious!" 

"Well no worries of that." Rhazier said sarcastically.

Loni just gave a groan of frustration as she went to the window. The day was bright and clear and a slight breeze made the trees sway to and fro. Laughter could be heard coming from some children on the street. "I remember when I was like those children", Loni said softly. 

Rhazier's glare disappeared as he made his way to stand by Loni at the window. "We're the reason there's still laughter in the streets", he told her. "And we'll be the reason it continues."

Loni turned to him and smiled. "I hope so."

Rhazier returned her smile with one of his own and took her hands. "Believe it," he said. 

They both stood there gazing at each other when suddenly a loud yell broke the silence. "LONI, WHERE THE HELL DID ALL THE FOOD GO!" 

Loni pulled away blushing slightly. "Looks like Luke has woken up," she said.

Rhazier shook his head. "Hungary as usual."

"I'd better go find him some food before he tears the kitchen apart," Loni said before walking out of the room.

Rhazier watched her leave, and then turned to the window again where the children were still laughing and playing. 'One day you to will be like that again Loni,' he thought, 'I promise.' 

*******************************************

REVIEWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (please)


	6. Ch 6

AN: Just so y'all don't get confused, Tyra is also the name of Tyra's capital. (like New York and New York City).  
  
Dalamar Nightson: Thanks! I'll try to explain better in this chapter. No, Josua is not shang.  
  
Disclaimer: Y'all know the drill; I don't own any of TP's stuff! **************************************************************************** ****************************************************************************  
  
People bustled around the crowded marketplace, buying, selling, and in some cases stealing, goods of all shapes and sizes. Newcomers to Corus were usually awed at the multitude of colors, sounds, smells, and ect. (and usually had a lighter purse when the snapped out of that awe). Not this one.  
  
Luke glanced around at the stalls with mild if somewhat detached interest. 'No market in the world can surpass Tyra's.' he thought to himself reminiscing about his days spent in Tyra's marketplace.  
  
He was so caught up in his thoughts that didn't notice the woman come out of booth with an armful of cloth that was obscuring her vision. "Oh!" he heard as he bumped into the woman, who dropped her cloth on to the street.  
  
Luke looked up, surprised, at the woman who was now glaring at him. She was of medium height, with big doe-like brown eyes, full lips, and black hair which she was now wearing in a bun. She was quite attractive. "Watch where you're going will you," she snapped. "Those could have been silks," she said gesturing to the material on the ground.  
  
"My apologies miss," Luke said, slightly grinning, "but you had that cloth piled so high I bet you would have ran into me even if I was paying attention." He bent down and picked up the cloth.  
  
The woman turned slightly red at this remark and replied curtly, "I knew where I was going."  
  
Luke finished gathering up the cloth and stood to grin at her. "Is this cloth transparent then?"  
  
The woman blushed fully at this remark. "Never mind," she said slightly exasperated as she reached for the cloth.  
  
Luke didn't let her take it though. "Wouldn't want the same thing to happen," he said. "Why don't I carry it for you to wherever it is your going?"  
  
The woman actually smiled a little at him and nodded her head. She turned a gestured at him to follow.  
  
"I'm Luke," he said pleasantly.  
  
"Lalasa," the woman replied. "My shop's just a little ways up here."  
  
"You own your own business?" Luke asked, impressed.  
  
"Yes," she replied, "I'm a dressmaker."  
  
Realization suddenly clicked in Luke's head. "You're the dressmaker Loni talks about," he said.  
  
Lalasa glanced at him. "You know Loni?"  
  
Luke nodded. "I live and work at the Dancing Dove," he replied. "Loni was of the first people I met when I came to Corus."  
  
Now it was Lalasa's turn to be curious. "Where're you from?"  
  
"Tyra," Luke said. "I guess I just like big cities."  
  
"I'm from a small village myself," Lalasa admitted. "Here's my shop. Thanks for carrying my cloth for me."  
  
"No problem," Luke replied easily. "It's not everyday I get to carry things for pretty ladies," he said with a wink.  
  
Lalasa blushed slightly. "I bet Loni just keeps you around for your sense of humor," she teased.  
  
"That or my good looks," Luke said with a grin.  
  
Lalasa laughed. Shaking her head she replied, "You're a piece of work."  
  
Luke just smiled as Lalasa opened the door to her shop. "Will you give my regards to Loni?" she asked.  
  
Luke nodded. "I will," he said as he turned to go.  
  
"Oh, and Luke," he heard her call from the doorway, "try to pay attention to where you're going."  
  
He smiled. "I'd best try," he replied. "The next person I run into might not be as forgiving as you."  
  
Lalasa just shook her head as she laughed. Going inside her shop, she thought to herself, 'you don't meet someone like him everyday. I might have to visit Loni sometime.' **************************************************************************** ************************************************************  
"I'm back!" Luke yelled as he stepped through the doorway of the kitchen holding bags of food.  
  
"Finally," remarked Loni, who was sitting at a table, going through what looked to be some type of list.  
  
"I got sidetracked," Luke explained setting the bags onto the table.  
  
"Oh?" Loni said, looking up from the list.  
  
"I bumped into your friend Lalasa," Luke said, "and knocked all of her cloth to the ground. So I helped her carry it to her shop."  
  
"Lalasa huh," Loni said with a smirk. "I suppose you charmed her with that humor of yours."  
  
"It just comes natural," Luke said half-jokingly. "What do you have there?"  
  
Loni glanced down at her list. "A list of items that were confiscated by our agents in Port Cayne," she said, "including more vials of Drusythem."  
  
"Do you think they're trying to recreate the Sweating Sickness Roger of Conté sent to Corus all those years ago?" Luke questioned.  
  
Loni shook her head. "They don't have the knowledge or the power. Only Duke Roger knew how to create the sickness. All that we know is that he used a combination of his own Gift, ancient spells, and Drusythem to make it happen."  
  
"Well that's some good news," Luke said quietly.  
  
Loni massaged her temples. "We're going to need a lot more good news if we're ever going to find out why they need so much Drusythem."  
  
The frustrated silence was soon broken by two loud voices entering the kitchen.  
  
"Trows, why couldn't you just listen to me for once?" Lila shouted at the man who had followed her into the kitchen.  
  
"Why can you not trust my judgment for once?" he shot back. "It's not like I try to get myself killed."  
  
"What's going on?" Loni inquired as she looked at the two fuming figures.  
  
Lila pointed her finger at Trows. "This idiot here thought it would be a good idea to try and follow one of Igor's men who was apparently delivering a package."  
  
"The package could have contained more Drusythem," interrupted Trows. "I just wanted to know where he was taking it."  
  
"It didn't occur to him that he might be seen," Lila said angrily, "which he was! The messenger met up with two others. They almost caught him, but I was there to conjure up smoke to allow him to get away."  
  
"Did you learn what was in the package?" Loni asked.  
  
"Just some papers saying that Igor would be sending some 'supplies' in to Corus during the next week," Trows said, "nothing that we didn't already know."  
  
"So there was no need for you to risk your life so foolishly!" Lila yelled at Trows.  
  
Trows threw up his hands, exasperated. "Quit treating me like you did when we were kids," he exclaimed. "I'm an adult now, and I can make my own decisions."  
  
"Like hell you can," Lila said as she stomped out of the room.  
  
Trows shook his head and smiled slightly at Loni and Luke. "The things you put up with for love," he said quietly as he followed Lila out of the room.  
  
Luke shook his head. "Those two are going to destroy Corus without any help from Igor if they keep at it like they do."  
  
Loni just smiled. "Or at least until Lila figures out that she's just as much in love with Trows as he is with her."  
  
"Hope it comes soon," Luke remarked while Loni nodded her head in full agreement.  
  
**************************************************************************** ***************************************************************************  
  
Comments and criticisms are always welcomed! PLEASE REVIEW!!!! 


	7. Ch 7

Thanks again Dalamar! Y'all need to REVIEW! Plz....: )  
  
The next chapter might be awhile...I'm kinda booked up at the moment. Anywayz, hope y'all enjoy!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own $&@#!  
  
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ```````````````````````````````` The Great Road North that led to Corus was dotted with small towns and villages where the weary traveler could get some rest. Forrooth was no exception and that night The Red Bear Inn was packed as usual. As one of the bigger villages, if not a small town, Forrooth was always full of merchants, travelers, soldiers, sometimes knights, and even the occasional noble.  
  
The main room of the Red Bear was filled with people drinking, talking (shouting really), laughing, and dancing. The cheerful and wild mood that captivated the people in the inn that night seemed to pass right over the two men sitting slightly apart from the commotion.  
  
Both men wore dark cloaks and hats low on their heads as to hide their appearances. The first man was tall and broad with dark skin, while the second one was tall, but not as tall as his companion, light-skinned and lean.  
  
After the two had ordered and received their drinks the second man leaned slightly towards the other so he wouldn't be overheard. "Well, this is a surprise. I didn't think you could stand to bring yourself to share company with the lower society."  
  
The first man smirked. "I have become more...tolerable of dirt in these past years." His face suddenly became serious as he said, "when is the soonest we can begin the first phase?"  
  
The second man shook his head. "Your friends seem to be more capable than I anticipated on slowing down our shipments, but I think we will be ready in two weeks time."  
  
The first man scowled. "That's the best you can do?" he whispered angrily. "The window of opportunity is getting smaller and smaller."  
  
The second man looked unflinchingly at the other man. "It's the best I can do," he said coolly.  
  
The first man leaned back in his chair, looking around casually. Suddenly, he grabbed a knife from inside his cloak and hurled it at a shadowy patch close to the stairs. A man collapsed on the floor with the knife embedded in his chest. "Thought so," the man said simply.  
  
The second man just raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to clean that up?"  
  
The first man stood up and smirked at him as he threw a gold noble on the table. "I'll let you take care of it," he said before he strode out of the inn and into the night.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"So where are we going today oh wise one?" Luke said cheerfully as he followed Rhazier on his horse.  
  
Rhazier ignored him as they passed through the city gates. Once outside the city he turned to Luke. "To get a little outdoor training in of course."  
  
Luke raised his eyebrows in surprise and interest. "Really," he said. "What kind of training are you talking about?"  
  
Rhazier smiled slightly. "You'll see," was all he said.  
  
After about an hour of riding, Rhazier led them off the main road and onto a dirt path that was almost invisible amidst all the trees. They rode for another hour before they reached the end of the path. Luke just looked at Rhazier who rode forward confidently on his horse. Rhazier stopped just short of the trees and clearly said, "Lohedri Fuhr Dasme."  
  
Luke's eyes widened in amazement as the trees parted to reveal a broad dirt road. "That's a nice little trick," he commented.  
  
Rhazier smiled and nudged his horse into a walk. Luke sighed and followed thinking about the last time Rhazier hadn't told him where they were going. Well, he certainly had something interesting to look forward to.  
  
They had ridden in silence for about twenty minutes when the trees started to thin out. Luke could make out buildings through the trees. People too, could be seen milling around. As they cleared the trees, Luke got his first good look at the place.  
  
It was obviously a training camp for the rebellion, probably one of their largest if not the largest camp. Luke looked around trying to estimate how many people were here. Rhazier, meanwhile, was talking to a group of guards that had come up. The soldiers nodded, and cleared the way for them to pass. Luke grinned at them. None of them grinned back.  
  
'Rough crowd,' Luke thought as he followed Rhazier to a two story building made of dark grey stone. Probably headquarters Luke realized suddenly as he spied a man in what appeared to be the camp uniform of a dark gray shirt, dark green leggings and tunic, and black boots coming toward them from the building. This man carried an air of leadership about him that reminded Luke of Rhazier.  
  
"Rhazier," the man said in greeting, smiling as Rhazier dismounted from his horse, "it's been awhile."  
  
Rhazier turned to the other man and grasped his forearm heartily. "Yes, it's been awhile since I've been to Darkstrike."  
  
Luke gave his horse to a boy that had come up quietly while the exchange was going on. Turning, he looked at the two men. Rhazier waved him over. "Mac, this is Luke, the newest addition to the circle. Luke, Mac is the head of Camp Darkstrike."  
  
Mac kept a broad smile on his face as he clasped forearms with Luke. "So, you're the Tyran."  
  
Luke grinned. "Looks like my reputation precedes me," he said.  
  
Mac laughed. "Why don't you two follow me and I'll brief you."  
  
Mac led them into headquarters and up the stairs to a sitting room that had a window that overlooked most of the camp. A young woman brought in a tray with three glasses on it and a pitcher containing ale. As they sipped on their ale, Rhazier asked Mac how things were going at Darkstrike.  
  
"Busy as ever," Mac replied. "We'll be graduating seventy-seven trainees come summer, sixty-six field agents, seven mages, and four healers."  
  
Rhazier nodded his head as he sipped on his wine. "How many new recruits?"  
  
"Around a hundred give or take a few," Mac said. "More keep coming every year."  
  
"About how many people are in this camp?" Luke asked.  
  
"Around fourteen hundred," Mac replied, "and this camp can hold a maximum of sixteen hundred."  
  
Luke leaned back in his chair. "I suppose the trees blocking the path are more than just an illusion?"  
  
Mac nodded. "They're what's called a materialization," he explained. "The trees are solid object until someone says the releasing phrase or the magic is disrupted somehow."  
  
Luke thought of something to ask Rhazier, but he wanted to wait until he could speak to him privately. Instead, he asked, "What kind of training goes on here?"  
  
"A little bit of everything," said Mac. "Recruits wanting to go into the field are taught hand-to-hand combat, fighting with knives, staffs, and survival skills. Aspiring mages are taught control, manipulation, spells, and other such things that are unique to their Gift. Healers are taught how to heal anything from a broken fingertip to a severed limb. All of the recruits are taught the art of spying."  
  
"The instructors here at Darkstrike are some of the best in Tortall, if not the entire Eastern Lands," Rhazier spoke up. "We recruit everywhere from the Yamani Islands to the high mountains of Saren."  
  
"Where do you put everybody?" Luke questioned.  
  
"The higher-ups stay here at headquarters," Mac replied. "Across the way are the soldiers' quarters, which each holds 200 soldiers, 800 in all. Beside us is the cookhouse and mess hall, where about 20 people reside. On the other side of the flagpole are the hospital and blacksmith/weaponry with 15 and 20 people respectively. About 50 hands live in the building down from the blacksmith, next to the barns. Behind the hospital and blacksmith is where the novice healers and mages reside, all 250 of them. And behind them are the classrooms where the 30 teachers live, not to mention the practice courts. Oh and north of the hospital is where the stables are and the 75 hostlers' quarters. Next to the stables is the tanner's where there is a staff of 15. Well, I think I covered it pretty good don't you?" Mac asked as he looked at Rhazier.  
  
"He probably knows more than he ever wanted to hear," Rhazier commented dryly.  
  
On the contrary, Luke was fascinated. To have a camp like this under your control would be a rewarding venture on itself. "What time is supper?" he asked, feeling his stomach rumble.  
  
Mac grinned. "About two hours from now if you want to go to your room and rest."  
  
Luke nodded and after saying goodbye to Mac and Rhazier, he climbed the stairs to his room. Falling on the bed he almost fell instantly asleep, but not before one last thought crossed his mind, 'I wonder how things are in Corus?'  
  
Things in Corus were not as good as Luke would have hoped. Three members of the rebellion had gone missing while undercover at a merchant's house. Loni suspected foul play of course, but there was no evidence. They had just seemed to disappear.  
  
"No one's heard anything down at Fiddler's," Josua announced as he walked through the door and casually tossed his wet cloak on a chair. "At least they hadn't heard anything someone told them they didn't here."  
  
"You know one of them's lying then?" Loni questioned as she turned around.  
  
"Zeke Mossler," Josua replied, "Swears on the Goddess that he wasn't anywhere near Fiddler's house when they disappeared. He smiled grimly, "except he was seen by Lila when he went down to the kitchens from his post to get a snack."  
  
Loni shook her head. "So he's either being blackmailed or paid." She looked at the panes of glass that were streaked with raindrops, "we need to find out which, so we can either destroy the blackmail or pay him more then they did."  
  
"Already on it," Josua replied smoothly. "Dreir should be back any minute."  
  
Loni nodded. "I sent word up to Trows in Port Legann. He's sent out all of the tracers available within the border. They'd have to be gods to get out of Tortall in less than twenty hours."  
  
At that moment a drenched form came hurtling through the door. "Sir, Miss," he said respectfully as he addressed them. "Zeke's body has been found in his room at Fiddler's, three stab wounds in the chest."  
  
"WHAT" roared Josua. "I SAW HIM NOT TWO HOURS AGO, WHO THE HELL WAS WATCHING HIS ROOM?"  
  
"Josua calm down," Loni said sharply. "Explain yourself," she said calmly.  
  
Drier looked slightly terrified as he spoke. "I went to question Zeke about thirty minutes ago," he began. "There were people watching the house, but no one was watching his room which struck me as odd. So I went in, and there he was sprawled out on the floor, the blood flowing out of him. I called in help, and ran as fast as I could over here."  
  
Loni nodded and turned to Josua. "Who was supposed to be watching his room?" she asked quietly.  
  
Josua still looked livid as he replied, "Feryl."  
  
Drier looked faintly surprised at this. "Feryl? He was posted outside of the house."  
  
Loni frowned. 'Something is not right,' she thought.  
  
"He was assigned to watch Zeke's room," Josua hissed between clenched teeth.  
  
"Drier, I want you to get Feryl over here now," Loni commanded sharply. "I want to know what the hell happened over there."  
  
Drier nodded and rushed out of the room. Josua slammed his fist on the table. "You break it you buy it," Loni commented dryly.  
  
Josua glared. "I'll be back," he said shortly as he threw on his cloak and walked out into the rain.  
  
Loni sighed. 'Rhazier, come home soon,' she thought, 'we need you.' 


	8. Ch 8

Alright guys, I'm in serious short supply of reviews. I will love you forever (1 year guarantee) if you review. It doesn't even half to be that long...it can be just one word. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter.  
  
Disclaimer: -_- No, I don't own any of TP's stuff  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Luke awoke to the sound of a horn blowing outside headquarters. He groaned as he rolled over, willing himself to go back to sleep.  
  
Rhazier strode through the door looking as if he'd been up for hours. "Get up," he said sternly to Luke. "We're to keep the same hours as everybody else while we're at Darkstrike."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes, but got out of bed to change. In five minutes, he and Rhazier were walking towards the mess hall. Rhazier lead them to a long table at the front of the room where they were greeted by the disgustingly cheerful Mac.  
  
"Sleep well," he inquired as Luke sat down.  
  
"Well enough," Luke replied as he glared at Rhazier. Rhazier, however, had remained standing, looking out into the sea of people. 'He's going to speak to them before we eat,' Luke realized.  
  
The mess hall quieted down as everyone turned their attention towards Rhazier. "I won't talk too long," Rhazier began. "I know how much you'll need your breakfast." There were a few laughs and a general murmur of assent. "As you know, you are part of a plan to bring Tortall back to its people, and secure the safety of the Eastern Lands. You've been told all the dangers, the terrible stories, and the risks. There are no guarantees, no promises, but there is hope. Hope that we will succeed, hope for a better tomorrow. Work hard. Train hard. Don't falter. You are needed."  
  
A loud cheering broke out in the hall as Rhazier sat down. "Very nice," Luke remarked to him. Rhazier gave him a small smile. "I'm not one for speeches," He admitted.  
  
With Rhazier's words said, the trainees stood to serve themselves. Luke began to stand up too, but Rhazier put a hand on his shoulder. "The head table is always waited on," he explained.  
  
Luke grinned as he settled back down. "I could get used to this," he said. "Maybe I should mention this to Loni."  
  
Rhazier snorted. "If you even suggest it to her, you won't get any food for at least a week."  
  
"Been tried before?" Luke inquired with a smirk.  
  
"Had to live off beans, dry meat, and stale bread until she cooled off," Rhazier replied. "It took more than a week."  
  
Luke shook his head and laughed. They were served a variety of fruit with freshly-cooked bred, ham, eggs, and bacon. Not knowing what Rhazier had in store for him, Luke wolfed down an ample helping of everything.  
  
"He can sure put it away," Mac remarked, amused.  
  
"You have no idea," Rhazier commented dryly. "He's not even that hungry."  
  
After everyone had pretty much finished, Mac stood up. "Trainees Lilke, Grer, and Fui Zhur see me after the horn."  
  
As the horn sounded, the rest of the camp departed to whatever chores or training awaited them. Luke spotted the three youths Mac had called walking toward their table. He looked them over. The first one was of medium height and stocky with tan skin and dark brown eyes that went well with his dark hair. 'Copper Islander,' thought Luke. The only girl was thin and willowy, short wavy blond hair and deep blue eyes. She walked with a fighter's grace despite her fragile appearance. The last trainee was tall for his kind, a Yamani, but was an inch shorter than the girl. His face and black eyes were emotionless as he strode forward.  
  
"Masters Rhazier and Luke," said Mac, suddenly formal, "I'd like you to meet our top three trainees Lilke Sunja, Grer Bain, and Fui Zhur Yokoshinko."  
  
All three of them bowed. Rhazier nodded at them. "Let's see what they can do."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Mac led the five of them out to the practice courts. The girl and the Islander talked quietly while the Yamani walked silently next to them.  
  
"Here we are," Mac announced as they stopped next to the center practice court. He looked expectantly at Rhazier. Suddenly, Luke knew why he was here. "I suppose I should stretch?" he asked.  
  
Rhazier looked slightly surprised before grinning. "Can't get much passed you can I?" He then turned to the three trainees. "You will be fighting against Luke," he explained. "This will be as much of a test for you as it is for him. I will choose the style of fight and the rules. First up, will be Trainee Lilke. This will be a tilt fight. The first person to pin the other wins. This fight will begin in twenty minutes."  
  
Luke grinned at Lilke who grinned back in response. They walked towards opposite corners of the court in order to stretch. Luke surveyed his opponent as he stretched. 'He seems to be extremely strong,' thought Luke as he watched Lilke's muscles bulge. 'His build should limit his speed though, so he should mostly try to stick with power moves. He probably won't get tired very easily either."  
  
Rhazier stepped forward. "Twenty minutes is up," he called out. "Prepare to fight."  
  
Luke grabbed his staff and walked towards the center. He took his fighter's stance. "On three," Rhazier said as he backed away. "One...two...THREE."  
  
Instantly Lilke came at Luke with a powerful strike aimed at his head. As Luke blocked it, Lilke aimed another powerful blow to his side. Only Luke's quickness saved him from a broken rib. Lilke's fast-paced blows were so strong, Luke's hands, arms, and shoulders were already sore from trying to stop them. As Lilke launched another attack Luke realized a weakness. The next blow came as swift and hard as the last, but instead of fully blocking it with his staff, Luke let it glance off his staff and Lilke's momentum carried him slightly forward. This was the chance Luke had been waiting for. He feinted high and then took out Lilke's legs with a strong swing to his knees. The fallen Lilke tried to stand up, only to find the end of a staff holding him in place.  
  
"Match set," Rhazier called out. "Winner is Luke."  
  
Luke smiled as he offered his hand to Lilke. Lilke took it, grinning. 'He knows how to take defeat well,' thought Luke.  
  
"Well done," remarked Rhazier as they walked over. "The next match will take place in one hour. Trainee Grer vs. Luke. It will be with knives. You will be allowed five. First to draw blood wins."  
  
After about a half an hour, most of the group had reassembled. Everyone was there except Rhazier. When he showed up, Luke noted a speck of suppressed fury in his eyes. Nobody else seemed to notice it though as Rhazier spoke. "Grer, Luke you have ten minutes to prepare. You will start on my signal."  
  
Luke, who was already loose, watched his opponent. Grer was not beautiful, but the way she carried herself made her seem as graceful as any lady. 'She's probably as fast as lightning. A deadly thing when it comes to knives,' thought Luke.  
  
Grer nodded at him as he gave her a smile as they entered the center of the court. Luke could see a small crowd forming to his left. 'They must be on break,' he thought.  
  
Rhazier spoke out over the crowd to start the match." One...Two...THREE."  
  
Luke started circling as did Grer, looking for the other's weakness. Suddenly, Grer lunged in lightning fast. Her knife flashed dangerously as it missed Luke's arm by inches. 'That was close,' thought Luke. She quickly pivoted and slashed at Luke's chest. 'Too close.'  
  
Luke sprung forward into an attack now. Cutting, her slashes short and forcing her to defend herself. She blocked his strike with a forearm, but barely missed his next strike to her unprotected side.  
  
They broke apart again, circling each other. Her eyes wary, his eyes determined. Luke suddenly darted toward Grer, arm extended. She blocked his strike, but Luke twisted both of their knives out of their hands. Before she could react, he grabbed the one hidden up her sleeve, and cut her with it.  
  
"Winner Luke," Rhazier's voice rang out as the crowd cheered loudly. Luke grinned as he handed the knife back to Grer. She smiled back, her eyes full of respect. "Well done," she said quietly. "I haven't lost a knife fight in the last five years."  
  
Luke nodded. "You're good. But you need to learn to secure your knives so there shadows or shape don't show up on your arm."  
  
Grer looked surprised. "So that's how you knew?"  
  
"Yeah, I saw it when we broke apart the second time. It's especially noticeable at this time of the day," replied Luke.  
  
"Very nice you two," Mac said as he and Rhazier came up.  
  
"Your next fight is in two hours," Rhazier said. "I've already told Fui Zhur. He wanted to go off and meditate."  
  
Luke nodded. "What kind of combat?"  
  
"Hand-to-hand," Rhazier replied. "First person to be K.O. loses."  
  
"Why don't you grab a bite to eat before the next match," suggested Mac. "You can eat at headquarters so you can have a little peace and quiet."  
  
Back at headquarters, after he had eaten, Luke laid down on his bed. Staring up at the ceiling, he began to think about all that had happened in the last three months. 'Life's gone a little crazy,' he thought as he drifted off to sleep.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes, he is your son."  
  
There were two men in the room. One was dressed in comfortable breeches and a shirt, and was standing behind a desk. His face was hidden by shadows. "How could this have happened?" he asked softly. "I must go to him now."  
  
The other man turned to face him. It was Marek. "No. You cannot interfere just yet. The repercussions could be great."  
  
"Damn it all Marek, I don't care," retorted the other man angrily. "He needs to see me."  
  
"Is it he who needs to see you, or is it you that needs to see him in order to ease your guilty heart?" Marek asked coolly.  
  
The man bowed his head in anger, but did not speak. Marek came behind him to place a hand on his shoulder. "In due time my friend, in due time."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Luke was startled awake by someone shaking him. "Luke," Rhazier said. "Get up; your match starts in a half an hour."  
  
Luke slowly got up. He had just had the strangest dream. Marek had been talking to another man about his son. 'I've never had the ability to See,' thought Luke. 'Why would I start now?'  
  
The crowd beside the practice court for this match seemed to have doubled. Luke noticed Fui Zhur standing calmly against the fence, his arms crossed and eyes closed.  
  
"Not much disturbs him, huh?" Luke remarked to Rhazier.  
  
"He's their best," Rhazier said simply.  
  
Luke began to stretch. After a short time, Rhazier signaled for both of them to get ready. "One...two...THREE."  
  
Immediately, the two began circling each other. 'Fui Zhur probably has the speed of Grer and the strength of Lilke,' thought Luke. 'This isn't going to be easy.'  
  
It was Luke that first went on the attack. His assumptions were correct. Fui Zhur blocked every one of his blows with lightning precision and ease. Luke's foot went out and in, catching Fui Zhur in the stomach. Fui Zhur caught it, and twisted, trying to make Luke lose his footing. Luke used his other foot to kick open Fui Zhur's grip as he back flipped away from him. Fui Zhur quickly counterattacked, catching Luke in the shoulder with a quick jab.  
  
Luke was now on the defensive, with Fui Zhur concentrating on his left shoulder. He hit it again, and it blossomed with pain. 'Damn,' thought Luke, 'I've got to distract him.'  
  
Luke waited until Fui Zhur was about to attack his shoulder again. Seeing that his momentum was all behind his punch, Luke quickly unfurled his leg with rapid motion, landing a blow on Fui Zhur's lower rib cage. He felt a rib crack under his foot. Fui Zhur fell back gasping and holding his side.  
  
'Well at least now I have the upper hand,' thought Luke grimly. Fui Zhur was breathing heavily as he began to circle him. Luke wasn't feeling so great himself. The other matches were beginning to take there toll on his body. This fight would end soon.  
  
Luke feinted for Fui Zhur's injured side, which was where he expected him to attack. Instead, Luke slammed his knee into Fui Zhur's stomach, knocking the air out of him. With a quick sweep of his leg, Fui Zhur was on the ground. One quick hit his temple knocked him unconscious.  
  
Rhazier's eyes sparkled with pride as he announced to the cheering crowd, "Winner...LUKE."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Who was the mysterious man? When will Igor strike? What made Rhazier so mad? Questions that will be answered soon!  
  
PLEASE R/R!!!!!!!!!! 


	9. Ch 9

Okay kids, I need to know someone's reading this story. PLEASE REVIEW.  
  
Disclaimer: No tengo nada.  
  
************************************************************ It was pitch black when Loni woke up suddenly. 'Something's wrong,' she thought as she sat up in her bed. Frowning, Loni got out of bed. She hadn't gone three steps when she caught sight of a fire, a rather large fire, in her window. 'Isn't that close to where Lalasa lives?' she thought as she ran toward her door.  
  
Grabbing her cloak, she ran down the hall and out the back door. 'It can't be,' she thought desperately as she ran toward Lalasa's shop. A crowd of people had gathered, trying to put the fire out.  
  
Loni ran up to a man that was directing the others. "Is the woman who lives here safe?" she asked the man, trying to keep her voice steady. He looked shocked. "There's someone inside the building?"  
  
Loni looked at him, horrified. Without a word she ran towards Lalasa's burning shop. Running past the people trying to put the fire out, she entered the building shouting Lalasa's name.  
  
She was answered by a loud bump that came from upstairs. Loni rushed up the stairs and into Lalasa's room. Loni eyes widened as she saw that Lalasa lay on the floor, as if she had rolled off of her bed.  
  
Loni grabbed her shoulder, but there was no response. "Lalasa's...?" she asked, slightly panicked. Turning her over, she saw that her eyes were wide open, but she lay rigid as a board. 'It's like she's been paralyzed," Loni thought with realization.  
  
Panic filled her as she thought, 'how the hell am I going to get her out of here.'  
  
Looking around frantically, Loni noticed a hammock like structure hanging on the wall of the room. 'Must be a future dress,' she thought as she snatched it from the wall. 'Rope, rope...' she thought, 'where the hell are you.'  
  
A flaming beam suddenly crashed through the ceiling to the place Loni had stood mere seconds before. 'Shit, the roof's about to cave in' she thought. Suddenly, she spotted a braided sash that was about thirty feet long. Smiling grimly, she secured one end of the sash to a bed leg, and the other around Lalasa, whom she had rolled onto the hammock and placed precariously on the window sill.  
  
Slowly, Loni began to lower Lalasa down to the ground, while a crowd of people watched. Another beam crashed through the ceiling, throwing burning chunks of wood at Loni. Biting back a cry of pain as one hit her shoulder; she concentrated on getting Lalasa to the ground faster.  
  
After what had seemed like an eternity, a group of men (that had been conveniently busy when she ran into the burning building) was able to grabbed her off the hammock and set her on the ground.  
  
By now, Loni was about to faint from all the smoke she'd inhaled. Slowly, she lifted one leg after the other out the window. Gripping the rope, she began to lower herself down slowly. Her arms were so tired from Lalasa's weight, and her vision was becoming more blurred. 'C'mon,' she said silently, 'just a little more.' And that was her last thought as her hands fell limp from the rope as she fainted, plummeting to the ground thirty feet below.  
  
******************************************************************  
  
"Wow, he was awesome!"  
  
"Where'd you think he learned to fight like that!?!"  
  
"...Lilke, Grer, AND Fui Zhur, it was incredible!"  
  
Luke grinned as he listened to the trainees discuss the fights that had taken place earlier that day. He winced, feeling his sore muscles and fractured shoulder more acutely than before. 'Painkillers must be wearing off,' he thought glumly.  
  
At least the food was good. Between Loni's cooking and the food at Darkstrike, Luke had never had such a long string of good meals. 'Back home, I was lucky to get something edible,' he reflected.  
  
Rhazier had been in deep conversation with Mac when he lent over to Luke. "Don't get too attached," he said, "we're leaving in three days."  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "So, basically, you just brought me down here to get my ass kicked by the new crop of agents."  
  
Rhazier rubbed his chin in mock-thoughtfulness. "Since you put it like that..."  
  
He never finished his sentence. Luke had taken the liberty of stuffing a roll into his mouth at that exact moment.  
  
"So, any news from home?" Luke asked innocently as Rhazier glared daggers at him.  
  
Rhazier's countenance turned grim. "Three men that were undercover at Fiddler's are missing," he said quietly. "The only man who could have given us a lead was murdered under our very noses."  
  
Luke stared back at him "When did you find this out?"  
  
"Last night," Rhazier said. "I didn't think it was a good idea to distract you before you had to fight today," he said quickly as Luke opened his mouth in protest.  
  
"Well...damn," Luke said softly as he leaned back into his chair. He looked at Rhazier with a serious expression. "You think it's a good idea for us to stay here?"  
  
Rhazier nodded. "I left Loni in charge, and she's perfectly capable of handling the situation in Corus."  
  
****************************************************************  
  
"...broken wrist, several fractured bones in her arm, broken collarbone, and a slightly fractured skull."  
  
Loni's eyes fluttered open as she listened to the healer speak. She couldn't feel the left side of her body. 'Painkillers,' she thought as she turned her head to look at the two people talking.  
  
Lila and Josua glanced down at her. Lila gave her a big smile as she said, "welcome back ma'am." Josua also smiled at her, but his was less warm. Suddenly, she was apprehensive. "What happened," she asked, looking at Josua.  
  
He hesitated while Lila frowned. "Nothing for you to worry about," she said firmly.  
  
Loni's eyes narrowed. "Lila, how long have I been asleep?"  
  
After a moment of hesitation, she said, "three days."  
  
It was all Loni could do to keep her voice steady. "Three days, and there is nothing for me to worry about?"  
  
Lila glared at her, but Josua spoke up. "We found the missing agents."  
  
Loni looked at him shocked. "W-Where?"  
  
"Their headless corpses were found in a ravine next to a village two days north of Corus," Josua stated grimly, "about a day and a half ago."  
  
Loni sat there, shocked. "Decapitated..." she whispered to herself, "why the new level of brutality?"  
  
"They're warning us to stay the fuck out of their business," Josua said with a twisted smile. "They must be getting close to their endgame."  
  
"Any leads?" Loni questioned.  
  
"None," Josua reported. "The people from the village either didn't see anything or were scared into saying they didn't see anything."  
  
"Damn," Loni said, sighing.  
  
Lila stepped forward. "Don't you dare think about getting out of bed," she said, eyes narrowed. "If I have to strap you to that bed, I will."  
  
Loni rolled her eyes, but didn't comment. Instead, she changed the subject. "How's Lalasa?"  
  
Lila smiled. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"  
  
Before Loni could ask what she was talking about, Lalasa strode in with a tray of food. "Good Morning Loni," she said pleasantly. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"Lalasa," Loni said shocked. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Since I currently have no place to live," Lalasa said with a tight smile, "Lila was kind enough to let me stay here."  
  
"Oh," was all that Loni could say.  
  
"Having a party without me are you?" Trows said casually as he strode through the door.  
  
"What are you doing here Trows?" Lila asked exasperatedly. "I thought you were waiting for Rhazier and Luke at the city gates."  
  
"I was," said Trows. "They're here."  
  
"Where?" questioned Loni.  
  
"Close," said Trows. "Any minute now..."  
  
Suddenly, what sounded like a feral roar was heard from downstairs.  
  
"Looks like he found out about what's been going on the last three days," Trows remarked.  
  
They were all silent as they watched Rhazier burst through the door, eyes blazing, "I LEAVE FOR FIVE DAYS, AND I COME BACK TO THIS!" he yelled, gesturing at Loni. "WHY THE HELL WAS I NOT TOLD UNTIL FIVE MINUTES AGO!"  
  
"We didn't want to worry you..."Lila said in a small voice.  
  
"Worry me...WORRY ME!" Rhazier exclaimed incredulously.  
  
"I was unconscious," Loni muttered.  
  
Rhazier whirled on her, "AND WHO'S FAULT IS THAT!"  
  
Just then, Luke strode in, a half eaten apple in his hand. "Looks like we missed a lot," he remarked. He caught sight of Lalasa. "Lalasa, so glad to see you again."  
  
Lalasa smiled, looking at the group that was gathered before her. 'It's going to be an interesting experience living here.' 


	10. Ch 10

Thanks for your advice Rubber Duck! Very much appreciated.  
  
Ok kids, the only characters you've probably recognized so far are Marek and Lalasa. The rest are original. Well, some of the characters that you know and love will be playing a part in this story (but the plot has to build a little more). I can guarantee three that will play a substantial part toward the end, and maybe more that don't get quite as big a role, it depends. This story tends to write itself sometimes. Anyways, on to the disclaimer!  
  
I DON'T OWN ANY OF T.P.'S PLOT, CHARACTERS, T-SHIRTS, COFFEE MUGS, FOAM #1 FINGERS, ECT...  
  
***********************************************  
  
Luke was up at dawn the next morning. Dressing quietly, he opened his door and crept down the hallway. By the end of his first week at the Dove he had known every entrance and exit to the building. He also knew where to step if you didn't want the floor to creak. He slipped out the back door and down the street.  
  
After weaving in and out of allies for a half an hour, he stood at the back to the entrance of Marek's hiding place. He had taken the key from Rhazier's clothes last night while he was fighting with Loni. Unless Rhazier looked at the fake key Luke had replaced the original with closely, he would never know.  
  
Marek was in his study when Luke slipped in quietly. No look of surprise crossed his features as he saw Luke without Rhazier. Actually, he looked like he had expected a visit like this.  
  
"What can I do for you Luke?" Marek inquired as he set down the quill he'd been writing with.  
  
Luke walked forward to stand directly in front of his desk. "I have some questions," he stated.  
  
Marek smiled. "Doesn't everyone?"  
  
Luke gave him a small smile, but quickly turned serious again. "Lohedri Fuhr Dasme," he said slowly, "what does it mean?"  
  
"Translated literally, it means 'The Hidden will triumph', but it is apart of much more," Marek said. "The phrase is part of an Old Ones' Text found in the ruins near Tirragen Lake almost ten years ago. The text tells of a changing of times that will occur, like it was destined to occur back then. We assume that they were referring to the eventual destruction of their race. We can only conclude that they are foretelling another 'change of times' in which the Hidden will set in to motion."  
  
Luke crossed his arms over his chest. "So basically we have one of two possibilities. Lose to the oncoming evil and see the destruction of the entire Eastern Lands take place, or defeat the evil, only to be the cause of the eventual destruction of our entire race."  
  
Marek shook his head. "Not necessarily. The text does explicitly say that the 'change of times' is bad; it just says that the one that occurred during their lifetime would be because of the evil in the world. We have a shot in making this a good 'change of times'."  
  
Luke gave Marek a shaky smile. "No pressure then."  
  
"None at all," Marek replied with a smile of his own. Long ago he had learned to make the most of the situation. Nothing would get done by being depressed about it. 'Fate has messed with me before,' he thought, 'and it will mess with me again.'  
  
"Marek?" Luke asked suddenly, "how were you drawn into this life?"  
  
Marek grinned at that question. "So many times I have wondered the same thing," he replied. "Perhaps I was born with a crooked heart, or maybe I just had bad luck. Whatever the reason, I don't regret being what I am."  
  
Marek frowned slightly and looked down. "I would never try to change what I am, because then I would be lying to myself. I had a friend who thought he could change. Hell, he thinks he is changed, but I know better, he'll still be the same person I knew so long ago, no matter how hard he tries to hide it."  
  
Luke stood there quietly. Marek seemed to take this change of heart by his friend as a deep betrayal and was still bitter about it. "Who was it?" he questioned softly.  
  
Marek looked up, as if remembering Luke was there. "No one important," he replied. He turned business-like all of a sudden. "Well Luke if that's all you needed to know, I suggest that you return that key to Rhazier before he suspects something."  
  
Luke knew that Marek knew as well as he did that he would never be so foolish as to just take the key without leaving an exceptional copy, but he didn't press. He knew a dismissal when he heard one.  
  
"I suppose I'll see you around," he said to Marek before he walked out the door.  
  
Marek nodded, and went back to whatever he'd been working on before Luke had walked in.  
  
'Well that could have gone worse,' Luke thought as he stepped out into the street. 'At least I'll still be in time for breakfast,' he thought with a grin as he quickened his pace.  
  
*******************************  
  
"That was great Lalasa, I'm glad your staying here with us, your food's delicious!" Luke exclaimed.  
  
Lalasa blushed slightly and grinned at the young man before her who had just eaten an ungodly amount of food. "I didn't even know if you could taste it since you were shoveling it in your mouth so fast," she teased him. "You eat just as much as my last mistress did."  
  
Luke laughed. "I've never met a woman who could keep up with," he replied. "She must be huge."  
  
Loni came and sat ungracefully at the seat across from Luke. "Lady Knight Keladry is no petite woman."  
  
Luke raised his eyebrows as he turned to Lalasa. "Keladry of Mindelan was your former mistress?"  
  
Lalasa nodded proudly. "Yes, I was with her during all of her training during her page years, and we've remained friends. I do her sewing when she's in Corus. She's never been good at it."  
  
Luke laughed at that. "No I would expect she wouldn't be," he said. "She was pretty well known back when I was in Tyra. They said she was just as good as any male knight if not better."  
  
"That she is," Lalasa said with a nod.  
  
"I would love to spar with her one day," Luke said with a wistful gleam in his eyes.  
  
Lalasa rolled hers. "Is that all you lads think about," she demanded, "fighting?"  
  
Luke grinned. "No, food is also very important."  
  
Lalasa gave him a friendly slap on the shoulder as he walked past. "Oh," he said, before walked out the door, "I also think about how I going to keep impressing beautiful young ladies such as yourself."  
  
At this Lalasa turned a nice shade of magenta, as Loni chuckled at her friend's expression. "You'll get used to him," she assured her.  
  
Lalasa shook her head. "Doubt it."  
  
***********************************  
  
"Moving me up to the big leagues huh boss," Luke said with a grin as Rhazier stood in front of him, arms crossed.  
  
"You're training has officially ended, so now I'm going to put your lazy ass to work," Rhazier replied calmly.  
  
"Ouch,' Luke said. "I didn't know you felt that way. Actually, I still wish I didn't know you felt that way."  
  
Rhazier rolled his eyes. "It's time you earned your keep. This is an undercover assignment. You and Trows are going to pose as potential customers at a little get together Merchant Fiddler is throwing. You will need to use him to gain access to his private study. From there, I want you to look for anything you can find that would show shipping records for vials of Drusythem or anything you can't identify."  
  
Luke raised an eyebrow. "No letting me in easy huh boss?"  
  
Rhazier smirked at him. "You want to be in the big leagues you have to be a big boy."  
  
Luke just stuck his tongue out at him as he walked out.  
  
'Maybe we'll work on the big boy part,' Rhazier thought exasperatedly.  
  
*************************************  
  
"Mister Tanner, Mister James, so glad you could make it."  
  
Luke nodded coldly at the man. "I'm sure."  
  
The man took their cloaks and hurried off to fetch his master. Luke glanced at Trows and gave a slight nod. The two were dressed in rich silks and both carried gold "dress" swords at their sides. Instead of dress swords, however, the two had very thin, but still extremely sharp sword waiting to be used.  
  
The man returned followed by a portly looking man with a very ruddy complexion. "Welcome to my home," Fiddler said jovially to the two men, shaking their hands. "Please have a drink."  
  
"No thank you," Luke replied stiffly. "We'd rather not linger," Trows said, looking around the room with arrogance and disdain, "let's get to business."  
  
Fiddler's smile faltered slightly. Evidently, he'd been hoping to get the two a bit more "agreeable" before they negotiated. "Very well," he said. "Follow me."  
  
He led Luke and Trows up a wide staircase and down the hall to a large study. He said something quietly to his servant, who then nodded, and walked out shutting the door behind him.  
  
"Ok gentlemen, what are you interested in?" Fiddler asked when he was sure the servant had left.  
  
"Silks from the Yamani Islands," Trows said.  
  
Fiddler smiled, greed showing through in his eyes. "That won't come cheap lads," he said with a wide smile. "I'll be needing a down payment."  
  
Trows nodded at Luke who took a large purse off his belt. "This should suffice," he said as he handed it Fiddler.  
  
"Thank you very m..." was all he said before he fell to the floor unconscious.  
  
"Idiot, didn't even notice the cut we gave him," Trows remarked, looking through his desk.  
  
"I don't think he expected a sleep-inducer coating the bag of money," Luke replied, searching his chest of drawers. Feeling something shake loose, Luke discovered a hidden drawer. "Well, look what we have here," he drawled.  
  
Stacks off shipment records concerning illegal goods including Drusythem lay in the drawer. Trows took out a pale blue mirror-like object, and started scanning the pages.  
  
"You sure that's going to work?" Luke asked.  
  
"Yeah, once we get back all we have to do is put the mirror on a special lens and a machine will reprint this information," Trows replied. "Magic and technology can do wonders."  
  
Luke nodded watching the door.  
  
"Ok, we've got it," Trows said, putting away the mirror and setting everything back to its proper place. "Let's go."  
  
They both grabbed Fiddler by the shoulders and sat him in his chair behind the desk. With luck, when he woke up a few hours later, he wouldn't remember anything. The two men crept silently down a back stairway and through the kitchen, where they went unnoticed. After getting their cloaks they strode out of the house and into their waiting carriage.  
  
Once inside, the two leaned back in their seats and grinned at each. "Good job rookie," Trows said.  
  
"Piece of cake," replied Luke as the carriage set off. 


	11. Ch 11

Disclaimer: Tamora Pierce= middle-aged lady Me= 15 year old girl Therefore: Me and Tortall Paraphernalia = Lawsuit

* * *

"OH HELL NO!" Rhazier exclaimed furiously at the request Loni had just asked him.

Loni sighed. "Rhazier, you only have to wear it for a couple of hours."  
  
Lila watched the scene before her with a smirk on her lips. It had been two weeks since Luke and Trows had successfully gathered information on the enemy's trade routes and schedules. From that information, the Rebellion had been given a new life. They were able to ruin, destroy, or put to good use almost everything that came through those trade routes. However, that had not stopped a shipment of blazebalm from getting through. Two fires had taken place at the homes of two known rebellion operatives. Luckily, no one had been killed, yet.  
  
This problem had been the one that had led to the fight that Lila watched with such amusement now. They had received some intel from one of their agents about an unknown shipment that had not been cleared with the Crown. It had arrived yesterday, and had been taken to a noble's apartment here in the city. They shipment was supposed to change hands tonight at a party.  
  
The security on this party was extremely tight. Getting agents in would be a huge problem, if it weren't for Lar'n. Lar'n was an old friend of Loni's who worked as a bodyguard for the noble, Lord Sareth of Valleyview. Lar'n and Rhazier didn't exactly get along, however, making Rhazier very stingy in the first place. Lar'n's directions were the last straw. Rhazier was to dress up as a Bazhir woman. Normally, he wouldn't make such a loud protest, but the garb Lar'n had chosen for him was...less than desirable. It was a sickeningly bright shade of fuchsia with gold sequins and a slit up the side.  
  
"NO BAZHIR WOMAN WOULD WEAR THAT!" Rhazier protested vehemently.  
  
"Well, um, maybe they aren't that up to date on Bazhir culture..." Loni trailed off weakly.  
  
Rhazier's look became suspicious. "What do you know?" he growled.  
  
Loni tried to look innocent. "I know just as much as you..."  
  
"LONI!"  
  
"Well, you're supposed to be a...a..." she said as her voice dropped to almost a whisper, "a woman of ill repute."  
  
"I AM NOT PARADING AROUND AS A WHORE!" Rhazier yelled in outrage.  
  
"Rhazier," Lila interrupted, "there are more important things on the line here than your pride."  
  
"Why couldn't anyone else do it," Rhazier retorted sullenly.  
  
"You were perfect for the role since Bazhir women usually wear veils," Loni explained. "We didn't want anyone to be recognized."  
  
"When I get my hands on that little..." he trailed off as muttered the horrible means of torture he intended to inflict on Lar'n.  
  
He stormed out of the room just as Luke came in with Lalasa. "What did we miss?" he asked with his eyebrows raised.  
  
"Ugh, don't ask," Loni replied as she plopped down ungracefully in a chair.  
  
"Where have you two been?" Lila asked Lalasa.  
  
"I went to visit some of my employees," she explained. "We lost quite a few dresses in the fire, and I have to keep the shop open. I gave them their assignments and told them where our new shop would be until the old one is rebuilt."  
  
"Which would be ...?" Lila asked.  
  
"Here," she replied.  
  
"Here?" Lila said surprised, "won't that be a little too crowded."  
  
"No," she replied. "They're only bringing the dresses here after they've completed them. They make them at their houses, and I check up on them to make sure everything is going smoothly. As for myself, I have ample room for dressmaking."  
  
"It'll be good to have her around," Luke said as he grinned and looked at Lalasa.  
  
Lila and Loni both noticed the light pink blush on Lalasa's cheeks before she turned away. They shared a glance, but didn't say anything.  
  
"So Luke," Lila began, changing the subject, "when are you going to tell Rhazier your role tonight?"  
  
Luke's face broke into a smirk as he replied, "Why don't I keep that a surprise."

* * *

Lord Sareth's party was indeed elaborate. It seemed the noble had spared no expense for his party. Expensive silk drapes furnished the walls while the room was scented with jasmine from Carthak. Food was plentiful as the female Bazhir servants roamed the room with trays of rich food and wine.  
  
One of these servants could barely contain her anger, or rather his anger, as yet another guest leered at him. Rhazier wondered how long it would take a prostitute to be able to retire if they only worked gatherings like these. By the offers he was getting, it didn't seem like very long.  
  
'Where the hell is Luke?' thought Rhazier as he glanced around the room.  
  
As if on cue, an elaborately dressed man bedecked in gaudy jewels strolled into the room. He grabbed a glass of wine as he walked in (not his first apparently) and sauntered over to where Lord Sareth stood with a group of nobles.  
  
"Lord Sareth," the man slurred, "excellent party."  
  
Lord Sareth looked at the man with slight disdain. "Why thank you mister...?"  
  
"Gabundy," the man said with a lopsided grin, "John Gabundy, merchant extraordinaire."  
  
"Really," said Sareth with a slight air of disbelief that was intended to be insulting. "I've never heard of you."  
  
"Well now isn't that a shame..." he murmured with a slight frown. Seconds later however, he burst into a smile. "Well it's a good thing we met then!" he proclaimed as he suddenly stumbled forward into Sareth.  
  
"Really Mister Gabundy, I think you've had enough to drink," Sareth spat out in disgust as he grabbed the wine glass from his hand.  
  
"Now, now just let me finish my bit and I'll be on my way..." he replied easily as he took back his glass. Suddenly, he caught sight of Rhazier, who had been staring at the commotion for quite some time.  
  
"Excuse me gentlemen, I see a pretty young lady who needs my attention," Gabundy said as he pointed shakily at Rhazier.  
  
"For the right price, she will pay you all the attention you need," Sareth said as he turned his back on him.  
  
The man walked unsteadily toward Rhazier who surveyed the man with carefully concealed amusement. "May I be of service to you?" he asked sweetly.  
  
The man took her arm and led her to the stairs. "I hope so," he replied with a leer.  
  
The guards, recognizing Rhazier as a servant and the man as a guest, led them to one of the many bedrooms their host had put aside for his guests. Once inside Rhazier turned to the man. "You could really be a great Player you know that?"  
  
Luke snorted. "Yeah, and you would be great in a harem."  
  
Rhazier laughed. "I would probably make more money that way."  
  
Luke grinned as he put the glass a table. He then took a key out of his pocket. "Well that was the easy part," he remarked as he handed the key to Rhazier. "Getting his fingerprints and the key to the room is probably going to be the easiest part of this whole thing."  
  
Rhazier nodded in agreement as he listened for any noise outside their door. Hearing none, he opened it a crack to see the empty hallway. "You ready?" he whispered to Luke.  
  
Luke nodded, and the two crept out of the room and down the hall. They had both learned the floor plan inside and out, and had several escape routes planned out if the mission failed.  
  
Guards lined the walls of the adjacent hallway. They were alert as they guarded the shipment of blazebalm locked inside the room at the end of the hallway. Rhazier and Luke hid in a small room right by that hallway as they waited.  
  
'Any minute now,' Luke thought. Just then, a loud explosion was heard outside the house. Wild yells could be heard from where Rhazier and Luke hid. They could also be heard by the guards apparently as well. All of them except three ran down to see what was going on.  
  
"Here's our chance," whispered Rhazier as he slipped out the door and around the corner. Luke followed quickly as the remaining guards shouted in surprise. A mere few seconds later, the guards were lying unconscious (killing was to be limited if possible) on the floor, and Luke was unlocking the door to the room.  
  
"Spread out," Rhazier commanded as he walked towards a line of bookcases. "We're looking for a secret compartment."  
  
"Really?" Luke said mildly as he walked towards the other side of the room by a desk, "I thought it would be out in the open with a sign saying Blazebalm."  
  
"Haha," Rhazier said dryly as he continued searching on his side. They only had a short time before the guards came back, and moving that crate of blazebalm was not going to be easy.  
  
"Found something," Luke said as he knocked on a floorboard. Removing the rug that was over it, he pried up the floorboard with a metal file he had hidden in his sleeve. Underneath rested an unmarked crate.  
  
"Don't touch it," hissed Rhazier as Luke eyed the crate.  
  
Luke rolled his eyes. "Really Rhazier, I'm not an amateur."  
  
Rhazier ignored him as he took out the thin layer of translucent wax that had once coated Luke's wineglass and now contained Sareth's fingerprints, and pressed them on a slightly lighter part of the crate. The crate briefly glowed blue before turning back to normal.  
  
"Let's go," Rhazier said as he picked up one side of the crate while Luke picked up the other. They walked to the window where Luke opened it and peered out. A flash of gold could be seen below in the alley. "Alright, they're there," Luke said as he secured the crate with a length a rope he pulled from his clothes. They lowered the crate until someone tugged on the rope below.  
  
Loud shouting could be heard from the hallway. "Looks like we better go," Luke said with a grin. As the guards outside tried to force their way in through the locked door, Luke and Rhazier begin to scale down the rope to the ground below.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?" Lila hissed up at them as they neared the ground.  
  
"Escaping," Luke replied as he hit the ground. He then pulled out a throwing star from his sleeve. "Now to take care of some loose ends." Throwing the star, he sliced the rope from where he had tied it, so it fell to the ground. The throwing star rebounded back to him as put it back up his sleeve.  
  
"Let's go," Rhazier said sharply as the volume of the voices increased. The crate had already been loaded in a carriage and was now on its way to a Rebellion safe house. The three melted into the shadows as the commotion in the noble's house continued.

* * *

"Are you certain? I would hate to punish you for any misleading information."  
  
A small man in a rough brown cloak with quite a few patches nodded his head nervously. "Yes sir, he is from the rogue in Tyra."  
  
The first man's mouth twisted in a smirk that did nothing to hide his cold eyes. "Well then," he said, "I suppose we'll just have to give him a little shock from home."

* * *

DADADUMMMMMMMMMMM!!!! The suspense is almost too much to take! There is a way to handle it though, but it's kinda risky....but, well....for your own good....you have to...................  
  
PRESS THAT LITTLE PURPLE BUTTON WITH A SMILE! 


	12. Ch 12

Disclaimer: Yes, you caught me, I don't own any of T.P.'s literary genius...damn you ff.net.

* * *

Lalasa sat in her room, immersed in her work. She was doing some very intricate stitching on the edge of one of the sleeves of the dress she was working on. This wasn't just any dress, this was the dress the Queen would wear to the ball that was being held in honor of the newfound relations between the Empire of Carthak and Tortall. It was also the first time Princess Kalasin, now the Empress of Carthak, would make an appearance at home since she gained that new title. Lalasa was working on her dress next.  
  
She sighed. Normally when she worked, she thought about nothing besides the task at hand, but today was different. Ever since she had been abused as a child by the men in her family and seen her mom and aunts receive the same treatment, she had mistrusted men. Sure there were some exceptions, like Uncle Garrow, and Keladry's knight friends, and the royal family, but for the most part, men were still more bad than good. And then he came along.  
  
Lalasa set down her work. 'Luke,' she thought, 'you seem to be the root of all this.' The thief had haunted Lalasa's dreams for the past couple of nights now, with all of them ending the same: Luke dying in Lalasa's arms.  
  
She shuddered at the memory of it. Why did she keep having this dream? 'He's driving me insane!' she yelled silently to herself.  
  
Just then, the object of her thoughts strolled through the door of her room. 'Figures,' she thought, slightly disgruntled.  
  
"How's it going," Luke asked with that trademark grin. Lalasa sighed; well at least it was a handsome figure that kept her up at night.  
  
"Okay, I suppose," she replied not looking at him. Out of the corner of her eye she could see him frown slightly. "Are you ok?" he asked with a tinge of worry.  
  
"I'm fine," she said, "just a little tired. I haven't been sleeping very well these past nights."  
  
"Bad dreams?" Luke asked knowingly.  
  
Lalasa smiled at him. "Something like that," she replied.  
  
Luke nodded. He himself had not been sleeping well as of late either. Lalasa finally met his eye. Luke was unprepared for what happened next. A torrent of scenes seemed to flash before his eyes, all concerning him lying bloody and beaten in Lalasa's arms. Clutching his head he sank to the floor.  
  
"Luke?" Lalasa said, alarmed. One minute he'd been standing there talking to her, and the next he was kneeling on the ground. "Luke, what's wrong?"  
  
The visions cleared and Luke was able to look up at Lalasa. "I...I'm fine," he said shakily as he stood uncertainly.  
  
"Luke, people just don't stand there and then collapse on the floor," Lalasa said angrily, "what happened."  
  
Luke looked at her with sudden realization. "Your dreams," he said slowly, "they show me don't they."  
  
Lalasa froze. 'How does he know...?' "Yes," she said quietly, "yes they do."  
  
"I just saw them," Luke said, hardly believing his own words. "I'm dying..."  
  
"Luke," Lalasa began, but Luke held up a hand.  
  
"Don't," he said with the most serious face Lalasa had ever seen on him. "Don't tell me that it's going to be okay, and that they're nothing but dreams, and this is all going to have a happy ending." Lalasa stood there silently with her gaze on the floor. "I know the risks I take, and I know that's what very well might happen."  
  
Luke walked over to her and with a finger tilted her face upward so she had no choice but to look into those hazel depths. He gave her a small smile as he said, "at least I know I might die in the arms of someone I care about."  
  
Lalasa managed to give him a small smile in return. "Oh, Luke," she said with a sigh, "you're too much sometimes."  
  
He slid back on his trademark grin. "Just sometimes?"  
  
Lalasa laughed. "You scoundrel," she said, "Get out of here and let me do my work in peace!"  
  
Luke shook his head as he turned to leave. "Women."  
  
"Oh and Luke," Lalasa said, "We're going to have a little chat later about how you saw my dreams."  
  
Luke winced, but gave a nod of consent before he left. Lalasa smiled as she picked up the sleeve she was working on, 'It's about time you and I had a talk,' she thought as she quickly begin to immerse herself in the complicated art of stitching.

* * *

Trows absolutely hated going to the market with Lila. And boy did she know it. It always took them a minimum of four hours to get everything, and Trows always seemed to be the one carrying it back.  
  
"I don't suppose you want to help me out here," Trows said as he struggled with the multiple bags and packages.  
  
Lila flashed him a smile. "Looks like you're doing fine on your own," she said sweetly.  
  
"Looks can be deceiving," Trows grunted as one of the packages teetered dangerously on top of the pile. He took a few steps back to try and steady the now wobbling tower of "supplies". "There," he said with a relieved sigh as the pile stopped moving. His relief was short lived however, as a man roughly pushed past him.  
  
"Damn!" yelled Trows as everything fell to the street. "Watch it asshole!"  
  
Lila whirled around. "Trows! Watch your mouth, there are children here."  
  
"Any children around here have all heard much worse," Trows muttered angrily.  
  
Lila bent down to help Trows pick up the packages and bags. "That's because of people like you running their mouths in the street."  
  
Trows rolled his eyes. "Yeah, people like me made these children morally corrupt."  
  
Lila glared at him, but didn't say anything. Instead, she looked to see where the man had gone. Scanning the crowd, she saw him look around as if to check if someone was following him. Her curiosity aroused, she told Trows she'd be right back. Standing outside the tent, she checked to see if anyone was watching her and then slipped into the tent.  
  
The tent obviously belonged to a merchant who dealt in precious jewels. Stones of all different colors and sizes sparkled at her wherever she looked. Suddenly, she heard two men talking. Frantically she searched for a hiding spot. As the voices came closer, she saw a large cabinet and ducked behind it.  
  
"I told you I don't have what you're looking for," one of the men in a blue shirt said angrily. "Come back tomorrow."  
  
The balding man who Lila had followed into the tent snarled in reply, "I'm sick of waiting on you. You have exactly five minutes to produce what I want or our business will be cut unexpectedly short."  
  
Panic could plainly be seen on the other man's face. "Our agreement clearly states no violence," he said.  
  
"Consider that agreement null," the balding man said grimly.  
  
Blatant fear was evident now on the other man. "But I swear I don't have what you want," he said desperately. "The shipments have all been tampered with."  
  
Lila raised her eyebrows. 'This man must be a merchant working with the Alliance, and the other guy must be one of Igor's agents.'  
  
"That's not my problem," baldy retorted with a cruel smirk.  
  
The other man was sweating heavily now. Lila debated what to do. Should she help the merchant out? He might have information that would be of great help to the Rebellion. On the other hand, she only had two knives on her. The other man was probably much better armed. 'But,' she reasoned, 'he doesn't know I'm here.'  
  
With her decision made, Lila dropped into a fighter's crouch and prepared to take the man by surprise. Unfortunately for her, right before she leapt at the man, her foot moved a chair. Turning around quickly, the man was able to block her attempt to stab him.  
  
'Damn,' she thought as baldy pulled out a sword and surveyed her in amusement. "Well," he said in mock surprise, "looks like I'm not the only one who breeched our agreement."  
  
The other man gaped at Lila, "I had no idea she was there, I swear it by the Goddess!"  
  
"He telling the truth," Lila said coldly. "I decided for myself that scum like you don't deserve to live."  
  
Baldy regarded her with amusement and malice, "You shouldn't meddle in other people's business, it can get you killed."  
  
"Thanks for the advice," she said coldly. Moving quickly, grabbed her hidden knife and flung it with all her might at the man.  
  
He was too quick for her, however, and blocked the knife with his sword. "That wasn't very nice," he said with mock hurt as he approached her, his sword gleaming dangerously.  
  
Lila looked for an escape or a weapon, anything that might get her out of this situation. She backed away from the man as he leered at her.  
  
"Too bad we had to meet like this," he said, his eyes going up the length of her body. "We could have been...friends."  
  
Lila shivered in disgust. "I would rather have my heart ripped out."  
  
"That can be arranged," baldy said with an evil grin. He was less than five feet away now. Lila realized that she wasn't going to make it out of this tent alive. 'Too bad,' she thought grimly, 'there were so many things I wanted to do.' At this thought, an image of Trows came to mind. 'Oh no,' she thought, 'I never told him.'  
  
Baldy raised his sword to deal her the death blow, when he stopped. Lila looked at him in surprise as he fell to the ground, a knife embedded in his back. Trows stood at the doorway with an eyebrow raised. "Are you still mad at me for what I called him earlier?"  
  
Lila gave him a big smile as she ran over to where he stood. She kissed him on the cheek and hugged him while she thanked him. Trows just stood there in mild shock. 'Did she just kiss me?'  
  
Lila let go of him to look at the man staring in shock at the now dead man on the floor. "I have some friends that will be very happy to talk with you."  
  
The man whimpered slightly as Lila and Trows escorted him out to the street and towards the Dancing Dove.

* * *

"I'm going for a ride, tell Rhazier I'll be back by sundown," Luke called over his shoulder while saddling up his horse Koka. "It's been a while hasn't it girl?" he whispered to Koka. He hadn't really needed his horse since coming into the city.  
  
Mounting up, he led Koka through the streets and to the city gate. Nodding to the guards, he kicked Koka into a gallop. After about ten minutes of pretty fast riding, Luke slowed Koka to a more leisurely pace. He had a lot to think about, and didn't fancy the idea of being knocked off his horse by a stray branch while he was deep in thought.  
  
'Why could I see Lalasa's dreams?' he wondered. He didn't have the Gift, of that he was sure. Sure he had an almost supernatural talent of reading people and perceptiveness, but no Gift. 'Maybe she has the Gift, and she somehow transferred the dreams to me.' No, that couldn't be right. She had been just as puzzled as him.  
  
Hearing hoofbeats, he looked up at an oncoming stranger. Luke didn't know why, but he suddenly felt a slight uneasiness. He checked to make sure all of his hidden daggers were secure (he had about seven on him), and watched as the figure drew closer.  
  
The stranger's face was hidden by a cloak, but Luke could tell that he was tall and heavily muscled. Something about the man, for it was definitely a man, was familiar. 'What was it that was so familiar about this man?' he wondered. Horrified realization dawned on him as he noted how the stranger held his bridle. Instead of turning the straps out and holding it with three fingers and the thumb, he kept them in and held it with two fingers and a thumb.  
  
Only one person Luke knew had ever held his bridle like that. And if it was him, Luke was in a whole lot of trouble. He was one of the reasons (a big reason) that Luke had left Tyra. As he drew nearer, he flashed Luke a feral grin, like a predator who's cornered its prey. "Luke," he called, "it's been a while."  
  
"Not long enough your Majesty," Luke said jeeringly at the man the Tyran Rogue called king.  
  
He flashed Luke another one of those horrible grins. "Please, call me Kris," he said. "I want you to be on good terms with everyone before you die." 


	13. Ch 13

Oh wow, all of the reviews are just overwhelming...not. Um, yeah...not feel'n the love guys. RD, if I could, I'd bake you a cake (I don't think they'd let it through customs though). I was wondering if I should write a sequel to this (believe it or not). I have so many ideas, and I don't want to make this story incredible long. Plus the sequel would have a great deal more of familiar faces. Anyways...ON TO THE DISCLAIMER!  
  
Disclaimer: I'm tired of writing creative disclaimers...I don't own them!

* * *

Rhazier surveyed the three people in front of him. They returned his gaze as levelly and calmly as they could. In truth, they were anything but calm. They relaxed though when Rhazier finally smiled at them.  
  
"Welcome Grer, Lilke and Fui Zhur," Rhazier began. "Because of your outstanding performance under Mac, you will now take direct orders from the Inner Circle. This includes me, Loni, Josua, Lila, Trows, and Luke. This order is also the pecking order in the Circle. Don't go to Trows with something if Loni is right there. Now, to give you your assignments."  
  
He turned to Lilke. "I've been told you're good with horses."  
  
"Yes sir," Lilke said with pride, "I helped raise them back home on the islands."  
  
"You will report to the Royal Stables, and be under Derrick, a hostler there. Pick up any information you can from the other hostlers, servants, nobles, and even the royal family. Even if you think it bears no meaning, report it to Derrick."  
  
Rhazier then turned to Grer. "You have the Gift," he said simply.  
  
"Yes," Grer replied with a nod of her head. "I can work the weather and do very basic healing."  
  
"Do you have any other skills?" asked Rhazier.  
  
Grer flashed Rhazier a grin. "Other than my Gift and my knives I'm pretty ordinary."  
  
Rhazier nodded. "Alright then, you will report to Sandra at the Golden Bear. It's on the other side of the city, and it's not in the nicest neighborhood. A lot of Alliance agents do business there. Get anything you can, but you must be careful. No one from the Rebellion works there. You're posing as Loni's niece who needed a job, so report directly to Loni.  
  
Grer nodded. Truthfully, she'd probably done more dangerous things. She couldn't recall what they were, but she'd probably done them.  
  
Finally, he turned to Fui Zhur. "Your obvious warrior personality makes it damn near impossible to put you into any domestic jobs," he said with a slight smile. "However, one of our agents was just discharged from his position. He was in the palace guard. You will be taking his place. Your duties are the same as the others, but you will report directly to Derrick as well.  
  
Fui Zhur bowed, pleased with his assignment. He had been really worried he'd be assigned to something like chimney sweeper.  
  
"Are there any questions?" Rhazier asked. The three shook their heads. "Ok then, I want you all to leave an hour and a half apart through separate exits. Use the ones from before."  
  
The three nodded and left the room. Rhazier sighed and plopped down on a chair. The day had been pretty hectic so far. The dawn meeting with Marek hadn't gone very well. Apparently, the Alliance had started to wise up to the hit and run tactics they had been using on their shipping lines the past couple of months. Now that fall had come, shipping was picking up because of the harvest and the nearing of winter and the necessity of supplies. Things they had caught before were now slipping by them on a weekly basis.  
  
"Rough day?" Loni asked as she came through the door and sat down next to him.  
  
"That's the understatement of the week," Rhazier said as he put his head in his hands. "Right under the understatement of the year which was 'it's probably not as bad as we think'."  
  
"I believe I said that," Loni said with a laugh.  
  
Rhazier just grinned at her. "Nothing like briefing the new blood," he remarked.  
  
"Remind you of the old days?" Loni said teasingly.  
  
"You make it sound like I'm some grandpa reminiscing about the old days to my grandkids," Rhazier replied in mock hurt.  
  
"You're not as young as you used to be," Loni said seriously. "I'm surprised you can still keep up with some of these young'ns."  
  
"Oh you are, are you?" Rhazier asked with a smirk as he got up from his chair. "You know," he said as he walked in a circle around her chair, "you're not exactly as spry as you used to be."  
  
Loni smiled. "You think so do you?"  
  
Rhazier continued walking seemingly with no purpose. "Oh I know so," he replied. "In fact, I think maybe you've gone a little soft."  
  
Loni opened her mouth in protest, but before she could say anything, she was scooped up in a huge bear hug from behind. "Rhazier!" she shrieked as he swung her around the room.  
  
"Told you," he said as he laughed along with her. He set her down gently, and she turned to face him. Their close proximity did not go unnoticed by either of them as they stopped laughing and looked into each other's eyes.  
  
In Rhazier's eyes, Loni saw the man who she depended on, the man who gave her courage, and the man whom she had loved for a long time. As Rhazier, gazed into Loni's eyes, he saw the woman who kept him stable, the woman who gave him hope, and the woman whom he just realized he wanted to be his wife.  
  
They stood there, just looking at the other. At last Loni spoke. "It's awfully quiet around here," she said. "I should probably check to see what everyone is doing."  
  
Before she could turn away, however, Rhazier grabbed her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. "Loni, I want to ask you something," he began.  
  
Just then, loud footsteps could be heard from outside the door. The door flew open to reveal Trows and Lila escorting a small man in a blue tunic into the room. "We brought a present," Trows exclaimed cheerfully. Lila, however, did not miss the slight blushes on both Rhazier's and Loni's faces. She raised her eyebrows, but didn't say anything.  
  
Rhazier turned to Trows. "Well," he said. "You've got some explaining to do."

* * *

Luke just stared at the man in front of him. His death threat didn't really come as a surprise to him. What did come as a surprise, however, was that he had come to Tortall to do it. The Rogue he knew never left his home turf unless he was absolutely sure he'd be the baddest guy around.  
  
"Why are you here?" Luke asked emotionlessly.  
  
"I thought I already cleared that up," Kris said disdainfully.  
  
"You made the death threat pretty clear," Luke replied as if he couldn't care less. "What I want to know is what gave you the desire to come all the way to Corus to do it."  
  
"Seems like you can't go anywhere without making a few enemies," Kris said casually, leaning back on his horse.  
  
"I thought the Tyran Rogue wanted to stay neutral between any Alliance conflicts with the Rebels," Luke shot back.  
  
"Oh the Tyran Rogue is neutral enough," Kris replied with a sinister smile. "But that doesn't mean one of the members can't get involved from time to time."  
  
Luke snorted derisively. "It's a little different when the head member gets involved. Do you even know how many people you're endangering by trying to settle an old score with me?!?"  
  
Kris sneered at him. "Don't act like you give a damn about what happens to those people. You left remember? Right when you were needed the most you left your people out to dry. Don't you dare talk to me about endangering lives."  
  
Luke gave him a murderous glare. "How does my leaving justify your endangerment of the entire Tyran Rogue. You want the same thing to happen to them as the Tortallians? Once you might have looked out for the well- being of the Rogue, but now you're just another power-hungry self-serving bastard."  
  
There was no trace of a smile left on Kris' face as he glowered at Luke. "You...little...punk," he said slowly with building rage. "You walked out on Rew, Thumble, Black Jack, Datria, and Ferencia during a raid. Imagine their surprise when, come morning, all that's left of you is a note and your share of the profit. You say I'm a self-serving bastard, but you're a COWARDLY HYPOCRITE."  
  
"I left because I was who the pirates wanted," Luke yelled furiously. "Without me there, they could escape with the loot without anyone getting hurt—"  
  
"EXCEPT SOMETHING DID HAPPEN," Kris screamed at Luke who stopped and stared at him.  
  
"Wha-?"  
  
"You thought you could lure the pirates away from them, and that they'd be all right," Kris said through clenched teeth. "But I bet you didn't count on any of them going after you."  
  
Luke felt the blood rush from his face. "Who...?"  
  
"They tried to tell her that they would look for you later and that you could take care of yourself, but she wouldn't listen," Kris said his voice full of anger and a tinge of pain. "How could you think she wouldn't come after you?" he said the pain now clearly evident in his voice, "she was in love with you."  
  
"Ferencia..." Luke breathed unable to believe it. She had been a flower seller sealed to the Rogue. They had grown up together, but he had never seen her as anything more than a friend who was like a sister.  
  
"The pirates caught up with her right outside the docks," Kris said shaking with suppressed emotion. "She took out two of them, but there were too many...they slit her throat before anyone could get there."  
  
Luke fell on his knees. 'How could I've been so blind?' he asked himself silently. There had been plenty of hints. Looks she gave him, the attention, things she said, things others said, and he had refused to see it. 'I thought I was helping them,' he thought desperately, 'I thought I could make things better for them.'  
  
Suddenly things fell into place. Why Kris had hunted him down all the way out here. It wasn't money or power that had tempted him, but— "you loved her didn't you?" he asked Kris in a quiet voice.  
  
"Of course I did," he whispered harshly. "But she had already given her heart away to you, and no amount of courting was going to change that. I spent years trying to get her to love me, but all she could do was say how she couldn't love anyone besides you."  
  
"I didn't know," Luke said softly.  
  
At that, Kris grabbed a dagger out of his cloak. "Enough talk, it's time that I finally put an end to your miserable existence." With that said he charged forward.  
  
Luke barely had time to grab his own knife and block Kris' stab before the knife changed direction. Kris wasn't the Tyran Rogue for nothing. Their knives were a blur as Kris viciously attacked Luke. The two broke apart momentarily to circle one another.  
  
"You should'a known I would've caught up with you sooner or later," Kris said panting slightly.  
  
"You never liked me from the beginning," Luke shot back, his eyes trained on Kris' chest looking for movement. "You were afraid that one day I'd take your place."  
  
"Liar," Kris hissed as he sprung forward, slashing upward. Luke countered and they resumed fighting with god-like speed. Seeing an opening, Luke kicked out, sending Kris stumbling back a few steps. He locked hilts with him as they came together, trying to force the other to their knees. Kris caught Luke with a backhanded slash as they broke away, drawing blood on his cheek.  
  
Luke didn't dare reach up to wipe the blood off his face. Kris could end this in seconds if he didn't concentrate. "You don't know what you're getting into," he told Kris. "This is bigger than you or me."  
  
Kris' arm extended out at breakneck speed as Luke just barely twisted away from the tip of his knife. "Shut up!" he screamed. "This ends now. I won't be able to live with you still alive. You betrayed us. No one can just leave, and you damn well know it."  
  
Luke glowered at him. "Quit trying to convince yourself that my actions have just cause for yours. People will DIE if you continue. You can't go back to how it was before if you kill me. They won't let you. You will be turned into another one of their puppets and your people will be turned into slaves of the Alliance's interests."  
  
Kris just shook his head with a half crazed smile. "There you go again, talking about things you don't understand." He suddenly drew back, allowing Luke to regroup. "The Alliance cannot be stopped, whether or not I choose to involve myself with them. With them, I can gain great power for the Rogue. With out them, we will be as weak as you."  
  
"Let your people decide," Luke said a pleading note in his voice.  
  
Kris scowled. "I am the King," he said venomously. "My decision is Tyra's decision."  
  
"How long will the underworld last with this going on?" Luke persisted. "The Royals and Nobles are bound to notice the connection between all of this sooner or later. Are you willing to risk the annihilation of the Rogue itself?!?"  
  
Kris laughed. The horrible sound echoed in Luke's ears as Kris spoke. "A new age is coming," he said harshly, "where the Nobles aren't in charge. It will be an age of equality."  
  
"Is that what they're telling you?" Luke exclaimed incredulously. "How can you believe that? I thought you were a somewhat intelligent man for all your faults. It seems I overestimated you."  
  
Luke was ready for the ferocity Kris attacked him with after he said those words. Reversing the blade, he opened a gash on Kris' arm. Kris kicked out, causing Luke to flip backwards to avoid the blow. They continued their rapid fire fighting until their labored breaths were louder than the sounds of knives hitting knives.  
  
Suddenly, hoof beats could be heard in the distance. Both fighters froze as the sound of an arrow in flight reached their ears. An arrow buried itself in the ground at the feet of Kris. Kris gave one last heated look at Luke before he ran to his horse and mounted up. "We'll settle this another time," he snarled before kicking his horse into a gallop.  
  
Luke whirled around, knife up, to face the oncoming rider. Seconds later, Josua pulled up beside him. "Luke," he said worriedly, "are you ok?"  
  
"Fine," said Luke tightly as he looked at the fading figure if Kris.  
  
"An old friend of yours?" Josua asked as he took in the bleeding cuts on Luke's body.  
  
"Not quite," Luke said as he saddled Koka. "C'mon, let's get back to the city; we don't want to get locked out tonight."  
  
Josua followed Luke silently as Luke turned the horse around. They rode in silence for the entire trip. Finally, as the city came into view, Luke turned to Josua. "Thank you," he said. "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't come along."  
  
Josua just nodded. "Just try to keep out of trouble," he said indifferently as Luke frowned. "We can't always be there to bail you out of trouble."  
  
Luke scowled at him as they rode through the city gates, but didn't say a word. There was something about Josua that he didn't like; for all that he was a member of the inner circle. Who'd he talk to, however, was a problem.  
  
Luke's face set with determination. It was time he came clean. Only one person could set things straight for him, and that would most likely not be a very pleasant meeting.

* * *

I think that was the longest chapter I've ever written...for a non-school writing endeavor that is. I've gone through some serious amount of paper for the sake of American History and English (damn research paper).  
  
Hope everyone's having a great summer!


	14. Ch 14

I know...it's been awhile. BUT, I have a really good excuse. School has been crazy, soccer is taking over my life, I've over committed myself on my community service and social life...you're right, I got noth'n. Anyways, hear is chapter 14.

**Disclaimer:** You caught me! I was going to infringe on copyright laws, but I guess since my conscience is kicking in I'll fess up to not owning anything.

* * *

There once was a fountain a little ways from the Dancing Dove, where a group of local ruffians used to pretend to "hold court" like they did in the Rogue. The fountain has long been knocked down by some fight or another, and most of those ruffians are gone or turned respectable. One man, however, is still playing the game, but it's no longer pretend.

Marek looked at the map on his wall that showed the city of Corus. It was sectioned off into areas and was fairly old being that it had been in the Rogue's possession for over 200 years.

Marek knew every little detail on this map. Every street, every ally, every tunnel, and every secret entrance into the city was embedded into his mind. Currently, his attention was focused on one spot: the spot where the fountain used to be.

The fountain brought back memories of a happier time, when he could still look at his former friend turned rival without a scowl on his face. When there weren't people dying or going missing every few days. When the fate of all he knew and loved wasn't in jeopardy.

It was a bit of a relief then, when Marek was disrupted from his thoughts by the opening of the office door.

"You're improving on moving more quietly Luke," he said without turning around to the young man standing behind him. "But why are you limping?"

Luke had to work hard to keep the amazement out of his voice as he replied, "a fight with the past."

Marek turned around at this and surveyed Luke with knowing eyes. "Those are the worse," he said quietly, "and I assume that's why you're here."

You might have heard of the man I had my earlier disagreement with," Luke said. "His name is Kris Roe."

Marek raised one eyebrow. "The Tyran Rogue? Explain."

"You might want to take a seat," Luke said emotionlessly. "This could take awhile."

Marek's eyes narrowed. "I'll remain standing."

Luke shrugged. "I've always been quiet about my life before coming to Tortall, but after what happened today, I've realized that being quiet isn't going to help anyone, least of all me."

Marek's interest was peaked as nodded to Luke to go on.

"It was just me and my ma for a long time," he began. "Weaving isn't the most money-making profession so things were kinda tight around our house. I couldn't have asked for a better ma though. She never got mad and always seemed to understand. I wanted so badly to help her."

"Then, one day when I was seven, I was on my way home from the market, and I heard yelling coming from behind one of the stalls. A group of kids had ganged up on this other kid and were beating him to a pulp. Before I knew it, I had dropped my packages, and was fighting my to the kid they were beating up. I told the bullies to shove off and they scattered. After I had helped the kid home, I got this weird sensation someone was watching me. I turned around, and there stood this tall black man back at me."

"He said he was the Shang Hawk, and that he was looking for a pupil to teach. He had been impressed with the way I had jumped in to help that kid, and said that I was a natural-born fighter."

"I didn't know what to say. I knew that those who became Shang had to leave their parents, and go live with their master, and I wasn't about to leave my ma. Well, when I told the guy that, he just smiled. He said that he wasn't the usual run of the mill Shang master and that I could live with my ma still."

"That's where I learned how to fight," Luke explained to Marek, "from him."

"From what I've heard though," Marek said a bit bemused, "is that your fighting style is similar to the Shang style, but isn't."

"It is nothing like the usual Shang way of fighting," Luke agreed," but my master was anything, but normal. He said he had been traveling through lower Saren when a Doi fortune teller offered to tell him his fortune. He never said what she told him, but whatever it was it caused him to come to Tyra to look for an apprentice."

"The style of fighting he taught me was a mix of Shang fighting, an ancient form of Carthaki martial arts, and Zallarian acrobatics."

"Zallarian?" Marek interjected, surprised, "as in Zallara, that little country to the south of Carthak?

"That's where he was from," Luke explained patiently. "My ma was a bit worried at first, but she was really proud of me. I worked as hard as I could. Then one day, when I was fourteen, he just left. He didn't give any warning or anything, he just left. I was really devastated and really angry. I couldn't believe he had just left without saying goodbye or leaving a note or something. That was the turning point."

"I begin to look for ways to use my skills. It was then that I met a member of the Rogue. He had heard that I was a real good fighter, and he needed a messenger that could hold his own if he got into trouble. It also helped that I was a kid. The job paid more than I had been making doing nothing, so I said yes. I never told my ma exactly what I was doing because I didn't want her to be ashamed of me, but I couldn't help feel a little bad when she bragged on me for helping her pay for groceries."

"My skills began to get more and more attention within the Rogue, and I was starting to get more high paying jobs. I couldn't keep hiding from my ma where the money was coming from, so I told her. She was more worried for my safety than she was about where the money was coming from. She warned me about the dangers of working in that kind of business. It was the only time I remember that she said I was just like my da, couldn't help but be crooked."

"When I was seventeen, a new Rogue came to the throne. Kris was only two years my senior, but he treated me like a child. He kept me relatively close to him because he was afraid I might try and overthrow him. He was really paranoid about that, even though I had said I didn't want the throne because of the potential danger to my ma. Unlike the Tortallian Rogue, the Tyran Rogue doesn't really have a strict sense of honor, so top official's families are in danger of being kidnapped or murdered."

"What did you to Kris to make him hunt you down like this?" Marek asked pointedly.

"I'm getting to that," Luke replied with a wave of his hands. "Kris and I were never on friendly terms. He thought I was thin-skinned and didn't look out for the Rogue as much as I looked out for the commoners, and I thought he was too cruel and self-absorbed. What made it worse though was Ferencia."

"I met Ferencia when I had first started working for the Rogue. She was also a messenger, and we were often paired together. We became fast friends and soon like family because she had no family herself and my ma treated her like her own child. When Kris became Rogue, Ferencia was sixteen years old, and was starting to become a woman. She had caught the attention of quite a few admirers, but none as persistent as Kris. He wrote poetry, gave her gifts, flirted with her constantly, and even offered to let her live with him. Ferencia, however, never even gave him the time of day. She always said he was too cold for her, and that she already knew the exact type of man she wanted to marry."

"Let me guess," Marek said, "a man like you."

Luke nodded. "I never put two and two together though, so her feelings were unreturned. Maybe it was because I only saw her as a sister, but I can't believe I didn't see it coming. Well, Kris was really jealous of me when he found out, and punished Ferencia by telling her she was to go undercover as a prostitute and get information that way. Ferencia of course was outraged, and I was beside myself with rage. Kris, however, was the king, and the only way I could overturn it was by becoming Rogue myself, something Ferencia begged me not to do. She said that she would only do it until she could support herself outside of the Rogue."

"Well, weeks turned to months, and months turned to years and Ferencia had been a prostitute for five years before we figured out a way to get her out. A ring of pirates that had previously worked with the Rogue had severed ties and had double-crossed us and stolen a couple ships worth of cargo. Ferencia and I promised the return of everything and the death of all involved in return for our freedom."

"It was after this proposal, that my ma caught the plague that swept threw the Eastern lands last year. She wasted away before my very eyes in two short weeks. Her dying wish was for me to become respectable. So I went before Kris, and promised my life if our mission failed. The opportunity was too good for him to pass up, so he consented. We were given a fortnight to complete our mission."

"At first, everything went as planned. We disabled the perimeter guard and were in the process of cleaning out the cargo, when things went bad. The pirates ambushed us, someone must have tipped them off, and Ferencia and I were separated from everyone. I knew that if I ran the pirates would come after me because I had pissed them off way too many times before. That way Ferencia could escape with everything and leave the Rogue behind. I didn't tell her what I was going to do because I knew she wouldn't have agreed to it, but that I would meet her at the docks and to have a boat ready. She agreed, but before she left I kissed her on the cheek and told her to be careful. She probably guessed what my plan was then, but she didn't let on, she just kissed my cheek back and left. That was the last I saw of her."

"I managed to evade the pirates, but just barely and I didn't escape unwounded. I left Tyra, positive that everyone else had gotten out all right. I was wrong though, and that's one of the reasons Kris tracked me down. Ferencia came after me, but the pirates got to her and slit her throat. He blames me."

"What's the other reason?" Marek asked looking serious.

"He's brought the Tyran Rogue under the power of the Alliance," Luke said bitterly. "Even though Tyra's supposed to be neutral, he still did it just to satisfy his own cravings for power."

Marek closed his eyes and sighed. "That would explain it," he murmured.

Luke stared at him. "That would explain what?"

"For the past couple of weeks, the amount of smuggled goods getting passed us has increased," Marek replied heavily. "No one can figure out how they're doing it because we weren't checking neutral transports that come straight from that country such as Tyra. We're going to have to find out how many Tyran merchants actually know about the smuggled goods and how many are clueless.

Luke groaned. "Oh no, Tyra's our biggest trading partner," he said. "Who knows how many ships and caravans we'll have to search?"

"Tyra's involvement might be checked though," Marek said as he suddenly realized something.

"How?" Luke asked.

"From what you've told me and from what I know, Kris isn't incredible popular in Tyra," Marek explained. People like him always have quite a few horrible little secrets that can be used against them. If we could somehow overthrow him, we could turn Tyra to our side."

"There's no one in Tyra that would try to oppose Kris," Luke said disheartened.

"That's where you come in my dear boy," Marek said with a smirk as he began to formulate a plan.

* * *

"So you've only been working for the Alliance for a couple of months now?" asked Rhazier of the small trembling man before him. The man's nerves were not helped by the fact that Rhazier was casually flipping his knife in the air as he questioned him.

"Ye—yes sir, that's right," the man replied uneasily. "I've only done a couple of jobs for them anyways, and that was only to support my family!"

Rhazier took one look at the fine quality of the man's tunic and snorted. "If you're going to start lying to me I'm going to have to find a way to keep you honest," he said grinning wolfishly at him while pointing the knife at him.

The man squealed. "Oh please don't hurt me!" he pleaded. "I'll tell you anything you want to know!"

Rhazier grinned. "Glad to here that."

About a half an hour later, the man was sent on his way, a new merchant indebt to the Rogue, and Rhazier had some disconcerting news.

"Loni," Rhazier called softly from the door.

Loni walked into the room and shut the door behind her. "What's up?"

"You know how we've been getting reports about stuff slipping by us that we used to catch?" Rhazier questioned her.

"Yeah," Loni said as she nodded her head. "What about it?"

"Apparently Tyra has started to aid the Alliance and the goods are coming in on their ships," Rhazier said grimly.

Loni's eyes widened in shock. "They've betrayed us," she said disbelievingly, "I can't believe it."

"Neither can I," Rhazier replied as he sat down heavily on a chair. "Well, the Leader needs to be told," he said as he stared out the window, not moving.

Loni frowned. "Rhazier, are you ok?"

He looked at her with a small smile. He marveled at how cute she was when she looked at him with her nose scrunched like that. He had to be strong. For her. "I'm fine," he reassured her.

He got up and crossed the room to where she was standing. "About earlier..." he said.

Loni blushed slightly as smiled up at him. "Yes?"

"I just want you to know, that when this is all over you have a future," he told her.

Loni smiled sadly. "How much of one is the question?"

Rhazier took a deep breath. "Hopefully," he said, "one with me."

Loni's eyes widened as she took in what he had just said. "Rhazier...do you mean?"

"Loni," he said, "I've been in love with you for a long time, and I hope that when you're ready, you'll be my bride."

For once, Loni was speechless. Then she flung herself at Rhazier and kissed him passionately as if she could put all of her love for him in that one kiss. He responded with the same passion, as they released what had been building up for quite some time. They were both panting when they broke apart.

"I'll take that as a yes?" Rhazier said happily as Loni just laughed at him. "I need to go to the Leader's," he said regretfully as he held her close.

She nodded as he kissed her gently before he walked out the door. Loni put a hand up to her lips as if she was in mild disbelief. She had been waiting for years to hear Rhazier say those words. Granted, it had totally come out of nowhere, but the feelings had been there all this time hadn't they?

It didn't matter. Whatever his incentive, Rhazier had proposed to her, and she had accepted. Who knew? Maybe they would move out of the city some day and live in some small town with a bunch of kids of their own.

And with that happy thought, Loni began whistling a tune, totally unaware of the trouble just around the corner.

* * *

A little sappy at the end...ok really sappy, but I think my characters are sexually frustrated so I just went with it. You like? No? Well tell me! BTW...

**Rubber Duck: **Thank you for your continual support. You're awesome! Seriously, if I didn't think customs would totally tear it apart, I would send you a cake.

**Liali:** Thank you so much, I love new reviewers! Thanks for the plot nod too. I try not to just put total crap up here.


End file.
